Taylor Swift is full of surprises in 2020. Not only did the artist surprise release one of the best-selling and most highly-acclaimed albums of the year but, as we've learned, she also directed a concert movie based on that album. Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions has been announced with a surprise trailer drop. Not only that but it will be arriving on Disney+ at midnight, meaning fans won't have to wait long at all to see what Swift has cooked up.
The announcement was made by Taylor Swift on Instagram. She included the trailer as well as a message confirmed the Disney+ release. A poster has since been released to go along with the trailer. The movie sees Swift performing Folklore live, in its entirety, for the first time since its release. She is joined by co-producers Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff along with a guest appearance by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame. Swift had this to say about it in the trailer.
"It's an album that allows you to feel your feelings, and it's a product of isolation. This could've been a time where I absolutely lost my mind, and instead, I think this album was a real flotation device for both of us."
Filmed in upstate New York at an isolated studio in September 2020. This marks the first time that Taylor Swift has been in a room with the producers who helped her craft Folklore. The album, which has already sold more than 1 million copies, represented a creative departure for Swift. The songs were made during quarantine, with Swift and the producers sending songs to one another, back and forth, to complete the writing process. This also marks the first feature-length directorial effort by Swift. She had previously directed several of her music videos but never anything this substantial.
This represents a huge get for Disney+. With more competition in the streaming game than ever this year, premium content is harder to come by. Taylor Swift is one of the most popular artists on the planet and Folklore is a massive album. Getting to debut this concert movie will undoubtedly bring quite a bit of attention to Disney's streaming service, which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. So far, it's been a huge success, with Disney reorganizing its media empire to prioritize streaming going forward.
Taylor Swift, meanwhile, has also been busy re-recording much of her early music. Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings LLC recently sold the rights to her first six albums after acquiring Big Machine Label Group last year. An unnamed investment fund shelled out $300 million for the rights. Rather than just lose control entirely, Swift has opted to record those early albums again to help give her some agency over that music. Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions arrives exclusively on Disney+ on Wednesday, November 25, at 12:01 AM PT. Be sure to check out the announcement from Taylor Swift's Instagram.
