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Taylor Swift is currently running from record to record – and not just when it comes to music awards. The US superstar is also becoming more and more of an economic factor. What’s up with “Swiftonomics”?
Taylor Swift is now a shining light beyond the USA. The singer regularly breaks records – and not just at music award ceremonies like the Grammy, which she has now won 14 times. Swift has become a real economic factor. Wherever she performs, the cash registers are ringing. This even increases the economic performance of entire countries.
Up to $800 for a ticket
Taylor Swift’s success is based primarily on a loyal global fan base. Most of them are female and millennials, i.e. born between 1981 and 1996. The singer is followed by more than 280 million people on the Instagram platform alone. Swift recently landed in fifth place on Forbes’ list of the world’s most influential women. In 2023, Time magazine named her Person of the Year.
Swift’s personal fortune is estimated at over $1 billion. This came about primarily through their US tour last year. The concerts had such economic importance for the venues that the regional central bank in Philadelphia mentioned the 34-year-old in an economic report. Because their performances led to consumer spending totaling $4.6 billion. Swift thus exceeded the economic output of 35 states in the USA.
Tickets for the concerts cost between $200 and $800 in regular ticket sales, and often significantly more on the secondary market. In addition, many visitors have additional expenses for travel, accommodation, food, drinks and outfits. The concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which was released last year, also brought money into the coffers. It was shown in around 8,500 cinemas in more than 100 countries. This brought in over $260 million for Swift’s own production company.
Rising hotel prices
Taylor Swift will also be coming to Germany for five concerts as part of her “The Eras Tour” this summer. In addition to Gelsenkirchen and Munich, she appears twice in Hamburg. There alone, the hotel and restaurant association DEHOGA expects more than 100,000 fans, the so-called Swifties, to come to the city – often with long journeys.
Hotel prices have already risen significantly on the two concert days in July. In some cases they have quadrupled. In addition, there are fully booked restaurants. It can be observed that it is no longer just a matter of attending concerts, but events are seen as events, says Kathrin Wirth-Ueberschär from DEHOGA in Hamburg.
Visits to restaurants, musicals or harbor tours are often booked afterwards. As a result, people stay in the city longer and spend more, according to the expert.
tourism and tax income
There are no official figures as to how much money will be spent on the German Taylor Swift concerts. This is also because Taylor Swift has not yet given a concert in this country.
However, you can get an idea of how much it could be: Employees at the Los Angeles unemployment office have calculated that Taylor Swift’s six past concerts brought the local district $320 million in tourism and tax revenue.
In terms of size, the Taylor Swift concerts can also be compared to performances by Beyoncé. The US superstar’s tour start in Stockholm last year alone ensured that the Swedish inflation rate in May 2023 should have only fallen by 0.2 percentage points instead of 0.4.
“Swiftonomics” is causing a stir
The temporary economic boom surrounding the Taylor Swift concerts at each location is referred to as “Swiftonomics”. Word of its success and economic potential has long since spread around the world. More and more countries and cities therefore want a piece of the pie.
Indonesia, for example, has recently come into the media spotlight. Despite all efforts to organize concerts locally, the country came away empty-handed. Instead, there were six concerts in March – but in nearby Singapore.
The Indonesian government is not the first to ensnare Swift: the pop icon has also received invitations to perform at concerts from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the President of Chile and the mayor of the Hungarian capital Budapest. The charm offensives were partly successful. For example, Swift subsequently added several tour stops in Canada to the program.
Fashion and merchandising business
Taylor Swift is not only a multiple Grammy winner, but also a style icon. The days of the “country girl” are long gone. She now appears in dazzling outfits at concerts and events. What she wears is usually sold out within a very short time. In addition, Swift has built a successful line of merchandising products: including clothing, jewelry and perfumes.
Experts have calculated that each Taylor Swift concert attendee spends an average of more than $1,300. In addition to the ticket price, much of it includes merchandise from the Swift collection. How much money this will ultimately bring in is not entirely clear. What is known, however, is that last year the pop star is said to have earned more money from merchandise than rapper Drake from his concerts – at least $183 million.
The 34-year-old’s current tour is already considered the most commercially successful world tour that an artist has ever played. “The Eras Tour” replaces Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour, which is estimated to have grossed around $939 million after over 300 shows. Swift is said to have grossed $1.04 billion after just 60 shows. And the sixth stadium tour in their career is far from over: the tour is scheduled to end in Vancouver, Canada, at the beginning of December after an estimated 152 concerts.