Taylor Swift makes tearful 21-minute speech as she joins Songwriters Hall of Fame

Taylor Swift made an emotional 21-minute speech in which she tearfully thanked her family as she made history by becoming the youngest woman to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Her family uprooted from Pennsylvania to Nashville when she was 14 "so that I could hone my craft in the songwriting capital of the world", she said at the New York ceremony.

"It couldn't have been easy for my parents and my brother to just pick up and move our entire family," she said.

"Even though words are supposed to kind of be my thing, I will never be able to express my gratitude to you guys for doing that for me. You're the reason I'm here tonight."

Swift, 36, was introduced at the ceremony by director Steven Spielberg, who she called a hero who had shaped her storytelling.

Songwriting was the only aspect of her career that had come naturally to her, she said.

"When I say that songwriting was the easiest part for me, I think what I mean is that it was instinctual.

"No-one taught me how to do it. I had to be taught how to entertain a crowd, and learn choreography, and be less annoying and navigate the industry and fiercely protect my own sanity through difficult lessons and massive amounts of trial and error and chaos and calamity.