Taylor Swift has just recently become a billionaire. And it’s no wonder. Cities around the world are begging for her to perform her “stadium arena experience” that is the Eras Tour — everyone is trying to cash in on the ‘Taylor Swift economic boost’ – aka Swifties Effect.
And why shouldn’t they? Every city she has performed in since March has seen an extraordinary spike in revenue.
According to a Bloomberg News analysis, her total net worth has just reached $US1.1 billion — and The Eras Tour is projected to generate close to $US5 billion in consumer spending in the US alone.
Bloomberg estimates that the shows performed so far have racked up more than $US700 million in ticket sales — the average ticket cost at $US254. (Here in Australia, ticket prices ranged from $80 to $500 — many paid $700+ on the resale market.)
Boosting the economy
The extraordinary success of the Eras tour has seen Swift add $US4.3 billion to the US gross domestic product thus far.
The estimated figures were analysed by the folks from Bloomberg Economics, which calculated the value of her music catalog, five homes, and earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets and merchandise.
With such a reliable scheme of revenue, it’s not surprising that world leaders and public officials are calling for the 33-year old to bring her tour to their cities.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric, the mayor of Budapest Gergely Karácsony and even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have made public statements inviting Swift to make an appearance in their cities.
In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s monthly Beige Book summarised the city’s economic activity, mentioning Swift’s three-shows in May for spurring growth in the city’s economy.
“Despite the slowing recovery in tourism in the region overall, one contact highlighted that May was the strongest month for hotel revenue in Philadelphia since the onset of the pandemic, in large part due to an influx of guests for the Taylor Swift concerts in the city,” the document read.
In Chicago the following month, three Eras concerts led to an all time hotel revenue record. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker credited Swift with reviving the state’s tourism industry.
In Seattle, Downtown hotel revenues reached a high of $US7.4 million on a single night of the Eras tour alone, while in Houston, city-wide revenue for the weekend when Swift performed reached a total of $US34 million — a 136 per cent spike from the same period in 2019.
Music journalist Nora Princiotti believes the Eras Tour success can be attribuited to the depth and popularity of Swift’s music catalog.
“I don’t know that anybody envisioned a tour of this scale ever happening. She can go three and a half hours and just hit after hit after hit,” she told Time.
“For as big as she has been for so long, even if this is a new peak, I think a lot of fans feel like they’ve spent their entire lives defending their love of her.”
Princiotti, who writes for pop culture site The Ringer and co-hosts the podcast Every Single Album: Taylor Swift, added there is “…something very strange in seeing the US government, or all of these various municipalities, just desperate to get a little sliver of the clout that comes from just being somewhat associated with Taylor Swift.”
Carolyn Sloane, a labor economist at the University of Chicago, described Swift as “a great economist.”
“In addition to being a generational talent, Taylor Swift is a great economist,” Sloane said. “Taylor has great ideas, is able to scale her ideas and seems to be pretty risk-seeking.”
Other sources of revenue
Not only is the Eras tour generating as much money as the economies of small countries, Swift is setting records with other sources of revenue.
The filmed version of her Eras performance “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” has already made $US123.5 million globally, and generated a record high $US92.8 million at the box office on its opening weekend.
On Saturday, Spotify announced that Swift had broken two records with the release of her newest album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) — the singer-songwriter’s fourth rerelease of her earlier albums.
“She’s done it again,” Spotify wrote on Twitter. “On October 27th, Taylor Swift became the most-streamed artist in a single day in Spotify history, and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) became Spotify’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2023 so far.”
And how can we forget Swift’s romance with NFL star Travis Kelce — which has sent NFL viewership ratings flying and increased sales of his jersey by 400 per cent?
Alice Enders, head of research at Enders Analysis believes that part of Swift’s success has been the constant release of merchandise for fans.
“There’s this whole ecosystem she has, and it’s very lucrative for her,” Enders said.
“There’s a cost of living crisis and people are still forking out thousands of dollars to see Taylor Swift.”
“We are in an experience economy where people crave going out and participating in social events. It’s no surprise that people are flocking to this Eras Tour experience in what is increasingly an otherwise digital environment we live in.”
The Eras tour is set to resume with a nine-show South American leg next month. With 89 shows to go and the rest of her international tour next year, the Swifties Effect has a lot more power in it yet.