2004–08: Career beginnings and Taylor Swift
Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee when she was 14 years old,[40] having signed an artist development deal with RCA Records.[41] Swift proceeded to work with experienced Music Row songwriters such as Troy Verges, Brett Beavers, Brett James, Mac McAnally and The Warren Brothers.[42][43] She eventually formed a lasting working relationship with Liz Rose. Swift saw Rose performing at an RCA songwriter event and suggested that they write together.[44] They began meeting for two-hour writing sessions every Tuesday afternoon after school.[45] Rose said that the sessions were "some of the easiest I've ever done. Basically, I was just her editor. She'd write about what happened in school that day. She had such a clear vision of what she was trying to say. And she'd come in with the most incredible hooks."[46] Swift also began recording demos with producer Nathan Chapman.[44]After performing at a BMI Songwriter's Circle showcase at The Bitter End, New York, in 2004,[43][47] Swift became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house.[48] Swift left RCA Records when she was 15—the company wanted her to record the work of other songwriters and wait until she was 18 to release an album, but she felt ready to launch her career with her own material.[27][49] Swift later recalled: "I genuinely felt that I was running out of time. I wanted to capture these years of my life on an album while they still represented what I was going through."[50] She also parted ways with manager Dan Dymtrow, who later took legal action against Swift and her parents. In 2010, a judge nullified six of Dymtrow's legal claims. The remaining unjust enrichment claim was settled out of court.[34][51][51]
At an industry showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2005, Swift caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, a DreamWorks Records executive who was preparing to form his own independent record label, Big Machine Records. She became one of the label's first signings, with her father purchasing a three per cent stake in the fledgling company at an estimated cost of $120,000.[52][53] As an introduction to the country music business, Borchetta arranged for Swift to intern as an artist escort at the CMA Music Festival.[54]
Swift performing at the Maverick Saloon & Grill in Santa Maria, California in 2006
Taylor Swift was released on October 24, 2006. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described it as "a small masterpiece of pop-minded country, both wide-eyed and cynical, held together by Ms. Swift's firm, pleading voice."[57] Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker described the 16-year-old Swift as a "prodigy." He noted that "Our Song" "stop[ped] me in my tracks" and praised the lyrics: "He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel, the other on my heart."[58] Rolling Stone's reviewer described Swift as "bright-eyed but remarkably seasoned," and admired "Our Song"'s "insanely hooky sing-song melody that's as Britney as it is Patsy."[56]
Swift performing at Yahoo! headquarters in Sunnyvale, California in 2007
Following "Tim McGraw", four further singles were released throughout 2007 and 2008: "Teardrops on My Guitar", "Our Song", "Picture to Burn" and "Should've Said No". All were highly successful on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, with "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" both reaching number one. "Our Song" made Swift the youngest person to single-handedly write and sing a number-one country song.[66] "Teardrops on My Guitar" became a minor pop hit; it reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.[67] The album sold 39,000 copies during its first week of release[68] and, as of March 2011, had sold over 5.5 million copies worldwide.[69] Swift also released a holiday album, Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, in October 2007, and an EP, Beautiful Eyes, in July 2008.[70][71]
Swift toured extensively in support of Taylor Swift. In addition to her own material, Swift played covers of songs by Beyoncé, Rihanna, John Waite, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Eminem.[72][73][74] She conducted meet-and-greet sessions with fans before and after her concerts—these lasted for up to four hours.[75] As well as festival and theater dates, Swift performed as an opening act for several country artists' concert tours. In late 2006, she opened for Rascal Flatts on the final nine dates of their Me & My Gang Tour, after the previous supporting act Eric Church was fired.[62] Swift later sent Church her first gold record with a note: "Thanks for playing 'too long' and 'too loud' on the Flatts tour. I sincerely appreciate it. Taylor."[76] In 2007, she served as the opening act on twenty dates for George Strait's tour,[77] several dates on Kenny Chesney's Flip-Flop Summer Tour,[78] selected dates on Brad Paisley's Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour[79] and several dates for Tim McGraw and Hill's joint Soul2Soul II Tour.[80] Swift again opened for Rascal Flatts on their Still Feels Good Tour in 2008.[81]
Swift and Alan Jackson were jointly named the Nashville Songwriters Association's Songwriter/Artist of the Year in 2007, with Swift becoming the youngest person ever to be honored with the title.[82] She also won the Country Music Association's Horizon Award for Best New Artist,[83] the Academy of Country Music Awards's Top New Female Vocalist award[84] and the American Music Awards's Favorite Country Female Artist honor.[85] She was also nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best New Artist, but lost to Amy Winehouse.[86]
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