MW Here's how many billions of dollars Taylor Swift fans spent on her 'Eras Tour'

By Charles Passy

The two-year global tour concluded in Vancouver on Sunday

Call her the $6.5 billion woman.

That's how much Taylor Swift has generated in terms of the total financial impact from her blockbuster "Eras Tour" in the U.S. and Canada, according to a newly released study from market researcher QuestionPro.

The two-year tour, which concluded in Vancouver on Sunday, took Swift, already a global pop superstar, to unprecedented heights of fame. She was named Time's Person of the Year in 2023, and prompted congressional hearings into how Ticketmaster $(LYV)$ conducts its business after the sale of her concerts went awry.

But the Swift story is also about money - and lots of it.

The QuestionPro study was based on responses gathered from nearly 2,400 attendees of Swift concerts and then using that to determine broader spending patterns.

The biggest Eras Tour expenditure was on tickets themselves (roughly $2.1 billion), but that was followed closely by travel and lodging ($1.9 billion), according to the QuestionPro estimates. Other major spending categories included outfits ($1.1 billion), merchandise ($862,000) and food and drinks ($544,000).

Add it up and you have $6.5 billion for all those sold-out performances. And that doesn't include Swift's dates in Latin America, Europe and Asia, which would likely add billions of dollars to the equation.

"The economic impact alone is unlikely to be matched by any single individual ever again, until perhaps she tours again," said Dan Fleetwood, who heads QuestionPro's research team.

Not that Swift will see all those billions of dollars: Venue operators, hotels, restaurants and countless other vendors and merchants all got a piece of the Eras Tour pie. But Swift still likely did very, very well from the tour, which included 149 shows spread across five continents and kicked off in Glendale, Ariz., on March 17, 2023.

'The economic impact alone is unlikely to be matched by any single individual ever again, until perhaps she tours again.'Dan Fleetwood, QuestionPro

A Wall Street Journal analysis noted that Swift could have been grossing around $10 million per show, but that didn't factor in her expenses, which might eat up around 50% of the revenue. Still, that left her with $5 million a night - and if you multiply that by 149, it comes out to a $745 million tour payday. Not bad for two years' worth of work.

And let's not forget that the tour spawned the "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" concert film, which itself has grossed $261 million worldwide.

Why did the tour become such a cultural - and financial - phenomenon?

Most music-industry experts say it all begins with Swift herself, who has built up a sizable fan base - "Swifties," as they're called - over the years. And it's a multigenerational fan base, which means whole families - and in particular, moms and daughters - attended the concerts together.

"The important thing to consider is that Taylor Swift has been cultivating and nurturing her audience, growing it exponentially since the mid-2000s. Unlike many artists who have had a two-decade career, she hasn't really faltered," said Rey Roldan, a music-industry veteran who now runs his own publicity firm.

Jaime Primak Sullivan is one of those Swifties who's been a fan for many years. A resident of Birmingham, Ala., she attended one of Swift's shows in New Orleans with her two teenage daughters, traveling more than four hours by car to get there.

Sullivan points to another reason for the tour's financial success, one that others have cited: The Eras Tour came after the long period of pandemic shutdowns and a general hesitancy among the public to travel or socialize. So people were ready to get out and experience life to the fullest once again - and they had some savings gathered over the pandemic to spend.

Add that to Swift's natural drawing power and the fact that the Eras Tour offered a greatest-hits showcase of the artist's work, done in Swift's uniquely engaging way, and you have a "perfect storm" scenario, Sullivan said.

As for her own Eras Tour experience, Sullivan noted she was fortunate enough to get good seats for $300 apiece, with taxes and fees, through Ticketmaster when they became available. She adds that she turned down offers to sell the tickets for as much as $5,000 each.

And Sullivan has no regrets about that. Seeing Swift in person with her daughters was "an experience of a lifetime," she said.

-Charles Passy

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December 09, 2024 14:14 ET (19:14 GMT)

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