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In the same way that daylight appears from the east and sets in the west, fans of the pop phenomenon will heed the invitation for latest releases. Well before the economy-lifting, game-changing international takeover of her Eras Tour, Swift had developed a particularly deep and personal bond with her fans, also within the reverential world of popular music. That relationship, sustained through hidden clues, extended parasocial narratives and perhaps her exclusive world, may be authentic and remarkable and nutritive, a steady raft through personal challenges – I have experienced it. But years into her imperial era, Swift’s repeated providing of the audience is beginning to look less like a two-way dedication and increasingly manipulative, the various limited releases and special vinyls and special store editions like a billionaire’s tax on her dedicated fans.

The Most Recent Product

The newest installment is the Showgirl film – or, to be precise, a “launch event” film for her new album The Life of a Showgirl, out this Friday. Promoted as the Official Release Party of a Showgirl, it’s a collection of song explainers, production insights and one visual piece (played twice), casually compiled into one 90-minute sitting. It’s the type of stuff most performers would release online, but which Swift, following her proven theater revenue records with her Eras Tour concert movie, has decided to put in cinemas this weekend. Anticipating a $30 million debut across America, it is expected to become the highest-grossing film during its run – unfortunately, given that it hardly counts as a supplementary piece for the record, let alone something remarkable in her broad collection of material.

Film Presentation

As a movie event, The Premiere Film of a Showgirl does reflect the music it accompanies – predictable, tinnily light, with the lazy execution and unpolished feel typical of an artist facing time constraints. Further evidence of what critic Spencer Kornhaber called Swift’s fatigue period. In an unpolished opening filmed direct to camera, Swift, modestly self-conscious and modest typically, promotes the release as an informal trip of the origins of the tracks” representing an “electrifying, exhilarating time”.

However, except for a behind-the-scenes featurette on the visual piece broken into short segments, the film mainly consists of videos that spell out the lyrics for each track over a snippet from the corresponding filming in cycles. That’s fine for secondary entertainment at a party, but an issue as the central offering for a record that is best absorbed from a distance, its tepid soft-rock and notably awkward words designed for easy listening superficially. It might require intoxication; except for a single shout for the remarkably unaware that particular song, the audience was quiet at the early family viewing.

Lyric Insights

Swift accompanies every song with a quick insight of her inspiration – always welcome, not even a hater can claim it's boring – though they basically amount to generalizations, professed enthusiasm and covering her bases (yes, she got permission from the George Michael estate to sample the song Father Figure). The artist often avoids specifics concerning lyrics that plainly reference individuals, but the ambiguity in this case seems particularly unnecessary. She does not reference of the subject of the songs, her partner, despite being atypically revealing about their personal life in recent media appearances recently. The widely talked about and badly executed negative comment in the song Actually Romantic is explained as an affectionate note to a critic. (Interestingly, a critical phrase and you’ve given me a whole lot of it”, exacerbates the issue.) The suggestive, wordplay-filled Wood, starring [redacted]’s “redwood tree”, is billed as a track regarding beliefs including a sanitized, suggestive look at the lens.

Connection and Storytelling

The artist still manages at appearing approachable from the highest perch within the industry; she’s a chatty and engaging storyteller, if an unreliable one on her own music. (This doesn't match the energetic collection marketed on New Heights.) This is most evident during professional moments; the standout scenes, clearly, happen as she allows focus to the team involved – one contributor, the movement designer, and the cinematographer, and others – and to the taut metronome of video production. These peeks behind the curtain – a clip of Swift on a Zoom call, humor among the team, refining a take – remain as compelling as their limited duration and suggestive. They show simultaneously the collective and the machinery underpinning her empire, the actual core in the artist's world.

Final Thoughts

Possibly including deeper material, combining calculation with transparency, was an impossible task for Swift’s punishing schedule of lowering rewards. It's possible loyal enthusiasts of the album – acknowledging their presence – could see merit in this basic package of exclusive items valuable. But topping the box office with minimal effort is not a musical achievement. It becomes an additional revenue source in her empire.

• The artist: The Premiere Event of a Showgirl can be seen in theaters