Taylor Swift is getting a brand-new trophy at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards – and fittingly, it recognizes the work she’s been doing behind the camera.
The 36-year-old superstar will receive the inaugural Artist Director Honours at the Sept. 27 ceremony, a new award created to recognize artists whose directing work has expanded the possibilities of music video and pushed visual storytelling forward.
CBS and MTV announced the honor Monday, describing it as a celebration of artists who have developed a distinct directorial voice and built a sustained, influential body of work.
Swift is already the most awarded artist in VMA history with 30 wins, and directing has become a major part of her creative identity in recent years. She has won Best Direction four times and has directed more than 15 of her own music videos.
Her directing credits include All Too Well: The Short Film, Anti-Hero, Lavender Haze, The Fate of Ophelia and Opalite, among others.
The award comes during another busy VMA year for Swift. She enters the ceremony with nine nominations, including Artist of the Year and Video of the Year for The Fate of Ophelia. The video is also nominated across several craft categories, including editing, art direction, cinematography, choreography, and visual effects.
The Life of a Showgirl is nominated for Best Album, while I Knew It, I Knew You is up for Song of Summer and Opalite is nominated for Best Direction.
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Swift has previously said directing grew out of necessity. While discussing her 2019 video for The Man, she explained that she had written a very specific concept involving prosthetics and initially hoped to hire a female director, only to find that the directors she approached were unavailable.
So she stepped behind the camera herself.
“It actually came out of necessity,” Swift told Variety, adding that the experience proved far more fulfilling than she expected.
“The more I did it, the more I loved it,” she said.
That progression from performer and songwriter to visual storyteller is exactly what the new VMA honor is designed to recognize.
Whether Swift will attend the ceremony in person remains unconfirmed, though speculation is already building about what she might do if she takes the stage.
Swift has used the VMAs for major announcements before. In 2022, she revealed Midnights during an acceptance speech, ensuring that any appearance this year will come with the usual level of fan detective work.
For now, though, one thing is official: MTV is adding a new award to its history, and Taylor Swift will be the first name on it.
