Did Travis Kelce's podcast subscriber count increase after Taylor Swift's appearance? Report explored

When Taylor Swift sat down with Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce for an episode of New Heights, the ripple effect was immediate. Released on August 14, the episode drew more than 17 million views on YouTube and sent the NFL star’s podcast soaring up the subscriber charts. Newsweek reported that over half a million new fans subscribed following the release, taking the channel’s total audience past 3 million.

The Swift effect was undeniable. As Billboard highlighted, her episode more than doubled the numbers from some of the show’s previous big-name guests. Jason’s wife, Kylie Kelce, had pulled in 8 million views in 2024, while Travis Kelce's 2023 sit-down with Patrick Mahomes ended up well behind the Swift effect.

How Taylor Swift’s influence drove Travis Kelce’s podcast surge

Taylor Swift’s appearance on Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast not only drew record views but also demonstrated the depth of her cultural footprint, according to Quinnipiac University professor Ari Perez.

Ari Perez, who teaches a course titled Taylor Swift: Cultural Mirrorball in the Women and Gender Studies Program, spoke to Newsweek about how Swift’s presence continues to shape conversations across industries.

“I think the size of her audience and of her influence, on both individual and groups of people and the culture at large, are due to the interest she generates in all kinds of folks for all kinds of reasons,” Perez explained.

For Perez, Swift’s wide appeal came down to the range in her work.

“She has something for everyone, and you can find in that songwriting menu anything that you want to find, and it will be expertly prepared and served,” she explained.

Since going public with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, Swift has fueled ongoing discussion about the intersection of sports, celebrity, and fandom. Perez emphasized that Swift’s bond with her fans is no accident.

“She has been very deliberate and hardworking at engaging with her fans and keeping a relatable image, the attachment fans feel toward her is reciprocated.” she explained.

Perez compared Swift’s branding to ESPN’s strategy of drawing viewers across multiple sports.

“Taylor really has that kind of brand integration where new fans—for instance, the folks that got into Taylor's music through folklore in 2020—stick around and find their place in the universe and are encouraged and motivated to sit at the big table,” she added.

The outcome for New Heights, Perez suggested, could be lasting.

“Swiftie fandom is mostly a big-tent fandom,” she said.

Taylor Swift's appearance fuels historic Spotify growth for Travis Kelce’s podcast

Billboard reported that Spotify recorded staggering figures following Taylor Swift’s appearance on New Heights. On Thursday, the platform announced that the episode ranked among its top-performing podcasts of the past year. Compared with the show’s previous five installments, Swift’s episode drove a 3,000% increase in new listeners, a 2,500% rise in overall streams, and a 1,100% spike in tune-ins around 8:45 p.m. ET, roughly an hour and 45 minutes into the broadcast.

Female engagement also grew sharply. Spotify said women were tuning in at a rate 618% higher than the average of the previous five episodes on the show’s first day of release.

Taylor Swift teases Sabrina Carpenter collab and reunion with Max Martin, Shellback on October release

Taylor Swift used her sit-down on New Heights to give fans a glimpse into her creative process. Among the announcements: a new collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter and a reunion with producers Max Martin and Shellback, who helped shape her blockbuster hits “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off.” After years of leaning on Jack Antonoff as her main collaborator, the move suggested her next project would lean more into pop than the moodier textures of recent albums.

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“It just comes from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life,” Swift shared.

She added that the album would feature 12 tracks and be released on October 3.

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