We already know that celebrities are moving into mobile games thanks to the success of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, but Taylor Swift is doing it while also promoting her music … and American Express.
Yesterday, the pop queen released the music video for her latest hit single “Blank Space,” but she didn’t stop with YouTube. In partnership with American Express (yes, the credit-card company), Swift also released the Blank Space Experience app on iOS and Android.
The app has you using your phone or tablet to look around inside a mansion while Swift sings and dances about her feelings and problems with Harry Styles, or something. As Swift moves from room to room, you can follow her performance by clicking on doorways.
The Blank Space Experience is more a 360-degree movie than a game, but it does have interactive elements. In each room, you can click on hidden items to see them up close. I saw a painting, some paint supplies, and a framed picture of a cat … it’s kinda weird.
The app is free, with conspicuous sponsorship from American Express.
With Swift recently pulling her catalog of music from Spotify over concerns about low royalties, the star is obviously willing to embrace alternative means of making revenue from her work. So it’s no surprise that she’s going mobile as more eyes are moving to these smartphones and tablets.
The aforementioned Kim Kardashian is making a lot of money from her game that developer Glu Mobile made and manages. Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is one of the highest-grossing games on Android and iOS, and analysts are already predicting that celebrity-endorsed games are the next big thing on mobile.
And David Hasselhoff is already following her.