I am a big music fan, although admittedly, pop music is not my thing. That said, one would have to be living in seclusion not to notice what is going on with “Swifties,” aka Taylor Swift fans!
Before we get into “SWIFTonomics,” I first noticed that Taylor Swift did something no other band or solo artist has ever done. She had all 10 of the current top 10 songs on the Hot 100 Billboard charts. Before Taylor, in 1964, only the Beatles occupied the top 5 songs on the charts at the same time.
It didn’t fully hit me how big Taylor Swift is until she recently started spending time with Travis Kelce. Travis is the tight end on the Superbowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs and has been one of my favorite NFL pro football players for years.
The story goes, that Travis attended her concert with friends on her Kansas City stop of her “Eras Tour.” He had a friendship bracelet made up and tried to get it to her during the show but was shut down by her security. He mentioned it hurt his feelings a little bit during his podcast (with his brother Jason Kelce, NFL Center for the Philadelphia Eagles) radio show. He said since Taylor rocked the arena, he invited her to Kansas City to watch him rock the stadium and she showed up on Sunday, September 24.
Two days later, Travis Kelce’s red #87 K.C. Chiefs jersey sales were up almost 400%. Fox Sports announced the following Tuesday that the Sunday game drew 24.3 million viewers making it the most-watched NFL game of that weekend. That broadcast had the largest improvement in the females ages 12-17 category and led in female audience in every major demographic.
Taylor started her current “Eras Tour” in March of 2023 and after 53 shows, she has been on break since August 9 until this November when she starts her 2nd leg both in the USA and overseas, which runs to November 2024. Although her ticket prices are high, there is value as she’s been known to belt out songs for 3.5 hours straight.
The music industry (I blame “The Eagles” first reunion tour) had been trending with higher prices and shorter shows, many of which barely run for 90 minutes.
Below you will see the “Eras Tour” financial statistics and projections as the “Taylor Swift Movement” is having major economic effects on the cities she visits:
- As per Time Magazine: Analysts estimate that the “Eras Tour” will likely surpass $1 Billion in revenues by next March, while Swift is touring internationally.
- Elton John’s Record will be Broken: Elton’s multiyear farewell tour wrapped up this summer and holds the current tour record at $939 million.
- Projected USA Consumer Spending: This tour goes much further than just net profits. The tour is projected to generate close to $5 billion in consumer spending, just in the USA!
- Taylor Swift as an Economy: She would be bigger than 50 countries.
- The “Eras Tour” Opening Night in Glendale, Az: Her tour’s opening night generated more local business revenue than the Super Bowl that was just played this past February in the same stadium!
- Three to Five Times Ancillary Revenue: Typically, there is a $300 “ancillary revenue” for every $100 spent on performances. This includes purchases such as hotels, food, transportation, merchandise etc. Swifties are spending an average of $1,300-$1,500 at every event.
- Taylor’s Slice of the Pie: Artists earn an average of 85% of the tour’s revenue, as per the Washington Post. With the average ticket price of $456, Swift’s earnings from this tour exceed the output of 42 countries.
- The Seattle Show: Swift set a record for single-day revenue for downtown Seattle hotels hitting $7.4 million, which is $2 million more than the MLB (Major League Baseball) All-Star game played there the same month.
- Ticket Sales per Show: They are averaging $13 million per show on the road.
- The Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” Movie: The movie version of her tour opened last weekend and has already become the highest-grossing concert film, beating Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never” concert movie.
The Federal Reserve’s next meeting wraps up on Wednesday, November 1st. “The Fed” meets every 6 weeks to decide if short-term interest rates should be raised, lowered, or stay the same. Interest rates have been raised 11 times since March of 2022 and are at 22-year highs. Perhaps The Fed should ask Taylor Swift what to do!