Published: September 29, 2026 · 12:53 AM EDT
The veteran singer, songwriter and producer made the comments in a new Vulture interview while discussing modern pop, Meat Loaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell’ and the changing music business
Todd Rundgren has sharply criticized Taylor Swift in a new interview, saying there is an argument that she has “ruined music” and describing her as the “apotheosis of mediocrity.” The comments appeared in a September 25 conversation with Vulture covering Rundgren’s six-decade career, production work and views on the modern music industry.
The subject came up when Rundgren was asked which contemporary artist he would target if he were making an album intended as a parody. The question referenced Meat Loaf’s 1977 album Bat Out of Hell, which Rundgren produced and has previously described as partly conceived as a send-up of Bruce Springsteen’s musical style.
Rundgren immediately named Taylor Swift. He went on to criticize her abilities as a singer, songwriter and performer while arguing that her enormous popularity is tied to broader changes in the music market rather than, in his view, exceptional musicianship.
The 78-year-old musician also offered his own theory for the rise of female pop stars, suggesting that the growth of video games during the 1990s shifted young male consumer spending away from music and encouraged the industry to focus increasingly on young female audiences. That explanation represents Rundgren’s personal interpretation of changes in the music business, rather than an established conclusion about Swift’s success.
Rundgren contrasted Swift with Lady Gaga, whom he praised for her musicianship and piano training. His comments have since been picked up by Billboard, Pitchfork and other music outlets after the original Vulture interview was published.
Read: Taylor Swift Wins 2026 MTV VMA Video of the Year for 'The Fate of Ophelia,' Honors Dolly Parton
The criticism arrived during another major week for Swift. Two days after Rundgren’s interview was published, she won Video of the Year for “The Fate of Ophelia” at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards and raised her career VMA total to 33, making her the most-awarded artist in the ceremony’s history.
Rundgren remains best known both for his own catalog - including “Hello It’s Me” and “I Saw the Light” - and for production work that includes Bat Out of Hell, one of the defining rock albums of the late 1970s.
Listen to Todd Rundgren’s “Hello It’s Me,” below:
Written by Gino Alache – Music Journalist
IMAGE CREDIT:
Todd Rundgren Archive.
