She’s arguably the queen of the music industry and, at only 24 years of age, Taylor Swift has some pretty sage advice for her peers.

In an op-ed for the august finance publication the The Wall Street Journal, the country phenomenon has shared her views on where the music industry will be in 50 years.

• How much does it cost to hire your favourite singer?

Far from bleak, her ideas are tinged with what she calls “enthusiastic optimism”, offering some practical advice as to how artists can stay relevant.

In an internet age, Swift urges her peers to change things up and take risks (but not necessarily Miley Cyrus-level risks), while providing some astute commentary on the power of social media.

We’ve chosen some highlights from Swift’s 1164-word essay, covering everything from piracy to selflies:

• “Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for.”

• “My hope for the future, not just in the music industry, but in every young girl I meet…is that they all realize their worth and ask for it.”

• “I’d like to point out that people are still buying albums, but now they’re buying just a few of them. They are buying only the ones that hit them like an arrow through the heart”

• “I think forming a bond with fans in the future will come in the form of constantly providing them with the element of surprise. No, I did not say ‘shock’; I said ‘surprise’.”

• “I haven’t been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera. The only memento ‘kids these days’ want is a selfie.”

I haven’t been asked for an autograph since the invention of the iPhone with a front-facing camera.

• “In the future, artists will get record deals because they have fans—not the other way around.”

• “There continues to be a bad girl vs. good girl/clean-cut vs. sexy debate, and for as long as those labels exist, I just hope there will be contenders on both sides. Everyone needs someone to relate to.”

Swift promises to stick around to watch it all happen, “all the while trying to maintain a life rooted in the same optimism.”

“I’d also like a nice garden,” she quips.

Given that her recent album Red sold 1.2 million copies in its first week, we’re thinking the music industry should take her advice.