In the last few years, Taylor Swift has dominated the music industry and popular culture as a whole. Her chart-topping albums and record-breaking tours have lit the world ablaze, bringing in millions across the nation. To get a true understanding of the economic ramifications and impact Taylor Swift has made within recent history, I read up on a Washington Post article that broke it all down. Here’s what I learned.
Following a tour of such magnitude like Swift’s, the industry standard is for the artist to keep about 85% of tour revenue for personal savings. According to Peter Cohan, a professor of management at Babson College, this means Swift will make approximately $4.1 billion from her Eras Stadium Tour. To put this into perspective, she alone is projected to make more money than the economic output of several countries. Millions were spent on each show, with fans coming from all corners of the world to attend concerts in their best-dressed attire. What was a major economic burden for fans? Ticket prices. Sites such as Ticketmaster and SeatGeek have faced backlash at their skyrocketing pricings in recent years, with resale tickets reaching about $1,600 on average. Swift has made waves in the political world due to a lawsuit being raised against sites for their unfair price practices. Cities where Swift’s concerts were held experienced major economic boosts, Cincinnati reporting $48 million and Los Angeles reporting $320 million factoring into the economy.
Another unique aspect of her shows is the sense of community. Swift fans have united across social media sites to share their outfits, “surprise songs”, and, the newest tradition, friendship bracelets they have traded with other concert-goers. During the peak months of her tour, over three million dollars worth of friendship bracelets and materials to make them were sold on craft sites like Etsy, with swaths of young girls trading charms with lyrics and references to Swift’s songs.
But it’s not over yet; Taylor Swift has recently released a movie version of her tour, a documentary of her American leg of the tour, which has made $37 million in tickets at theaters across the world. Who knows what kind of financial impact she will have once she enters the international leg of her tour?
