Todd Rundgren claims that Taylor Swift “ruined music” and calls her the “apotheosis of mediocrity”

Todd Rundgren has taken aim at Taylor Swift, claiming there is an argument that she has “ruined music” and describing the superstar as the “apotheosis of mediocrity”. READ MORE: Taylor Swift – ‘The Life Of A Showgirl’ review: magical when the songwriter just lets herself be The veteran singer-songwriter and producer made the comments in an interview with Vulture, after being asked which contemporary artist he would target if he were making an album intended as a parody. The question referred to Rundgren’s production of Meat Loaf’s 1977 blockbuster ‘Bat Out Of Hell’, which he has previously said he approached partly as a spoof of Bruce Springsteen. Asked who he would choose if he were doing the same thing in 2026, Rundgren replied: “Taylor Swift, of course. There’s an argument to be made that she ruined music.” “It’s an understandable phenomenon,” he continued. “It’s just that, to me, Taylor Swift is the apotheosis of mediocrity.” Rundgren then offered his theory for why female artists have come to dominate mainstream pop, arguing that a shift began in the 1990s when young male consumers increasingly spent their money on video games rather than records. “It’s the era of the female a...