Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Tipped To Be The First $1 Billion Tour

Taylor Swift's 'Eras Tour' is set to become the largest in concert history, expecting to bring in over $1 billion, which would break the record for global concert tours, which is currently held by Elton John. It could even lead to an era of higher ticket prices, show grosses and concert industry revenues.

Executive Vice President and Head of Global Music at Independent Artist Group, Jarred Arfa said, “What we’re seeing on this particular Taylor tour is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. It’s pretty astonishing.” This group represents Billy Joel, Metallica and other acts.

It has been suggested this tour could lead to inflation, with AMP chief economist Shane Oliver foreseeing some lift coming.

“These are really big events across consecutive days for 200,000 fans in Melbourne and around 250,000 in Sydney (even assuming there are no additional concerts added) and so there will be a bump in related employment, accommodation demand, transport fares and possibly in airfares into and out of the two cities.” 

There are however, two factors that are offsetting this. First the spending boost is only expected to last a few days, “Even if it does show in monthly inflation data (as increased domestic travel and accommodation costs), it probably won’t show up much in quarterly data, and the RBA will probably, and rightly, look through it as temporary." 

And second, it is important to note that by next February, it is expected there will be around three more interest rate rises weighing on household spending.

 

“The economy is likely to be in a bit of a hole as the lagged impact of rate hikes bears down. So, any lift boost Taylor Swift can provide – even if temporary – will be good news. There is nothing like a catchy Taylor Swift song to lift one’s spirits.”

The last week has seen Taylor announce new international dates, bringing her to South America, Australia, Asia and Europe. Her original 52 US dates ends in August, and she will be playing an additional 54 shows overseas, bringing the total to 106 shows. The last show is in London, and who knows, maybe more shows will be added.

There has been speculation surrounding how much she has been earning, and in an unusual move for the industry, she is not reporting her nightly grosses after the shows to Billboard Boxscore, which is used to track the data. There are expectations these will be reported later.

Fueling questions regarding how much she is earning and how these grosses could affect expectation for other artists have been circulating.

This comes in a booming market for arena and stadium shows from stars such as Beyonce and Madonna. It was reported per-show concert grosses "are higher than they've ever been."

Performers are now charging higher prices for general admission tickets, aisle seats and VIP packages, even as shows in clubs, amphitheaters and music festivals struggle.

Although many are complaining about the pricing, they are still producing the money to be able to attend the shows. The industry revenues are increasingly concentrated in concerts performed by the world's biggest stars.

However, the biggest issue for Taylor, isn't the pricing. It's getting the tickets in the first place.

Elton John is currently the record holder for highest grossing global tour with his 'Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour' running from 2018 to 2023. It ends in July and has brought in over $887 million. He surpassed Ed Sheeran's 'Divide Tour' running between 2017 and 2019, earning $776 million.

It was estimated in December, Taylor's US leg would earn around $590 million, with the average price for a ticket being $215.00.

Now that she's added worldwide dates, it's possible she could draw in the record breaking $1 billion. Top tickets in the US tend to cost 20-30% more than worldwide tickets, meaning it may not happen, however some venues overseas are larger which could mean more ticket purchasers.

It is expected she will reach the $1 billion line, however some are estimating approximately $700 million to $900 million, which would still surpass her 'Reputation Stadium Tour' running in 2018, bringing in $345 million. The average ticket prince was $119.00 for this though.

Some are even expecting her current tour to exceed Beyonce's, which is what happened the last time the two toured as solo artists. Beyonce's 'Formation World Tour' brought in $256 million in 2016.

It's important to note artists don't get paid per show, but for the tour itself. For the US shows, Taylor's pricing ranged between $50.00 for cheap seats and $900 for VIP packages.

She hasn't engaged in "dynamic pricing" which is where ticket prices are allowed to float upward or downward based on demand.

Her shows usually sell out, meaning the number of tickets sold each night depends on the size of the stadium. Some venues host approximately 50,000 to 60,000, but can reach 80,000 or more.

It has been noted she has earned approximately $40 million in concert tickets over a recent weekend, which would equivalate over $13 million per concert, for three shows.

The average estimate for her pre-show gross is at $10 million, although it can range between $6 million and $13 million or more.

Concerts include renting out stadiums, production, labor and transportation costs. Taylor's 'Eras Tour' is one of the most technically ambitious in recent history.

Other payouts go towards the concert promoters around the world, with them gaining a 10% cut, but highly favourable deals are cut out with Taylor being such a big star. She is also not working with a booking agency like most, which has eliminated a major cost.

It is expected the star is taking home approximately 40-60% of the average estimated $10 million per show gross. Some think she is even taking home under 50%.

The hosting stadium takes a cut of approximately $2-3 million of the $10 million, the staging costs and promoter's cut takes another 50% of the remaining $7-8 million, which leaves Taylor approximately $3.5-4 million per night.

Multiply this by 100 shows becomes $350-400 million profit for the entire tour, while a broader estimates but her profit between $300-500 million.

It is estimated the tour is grossing another $2 million approximately through merchandise, with fans spending about $50-75 a person, including those who don't buy anything.

During a recent weekend, she earned approximately $40 million in tickets, and around $10 million in merch, accounting for around $3 million in merchandise per night.

After paying off a merchandise company, Taylor could be left with around 70%, which amounts to about $1.4 million per night, accounting for an additional $140 million on top of the $300-500 million from tickets, which approximates over $500 million in profit for the star.

But the tour doesn't stop generating income, with the cash flowing in from the partner ship with credit-card company Capitol One, which are sponsoring the tour.

Last year, Capitol One cardholders got early access to tickets in a presale, and on this tour fans were given light-up wristbands with Capitol One's logo branded on.

There's also the income that flows in through merchandise bought online before and after the shows, and the tour-related income from the increased interest in her music.

She is still selling thousands of albums per weeks, especially in vinyl and CDs. She has also experienced a spike in online streams as the tour flows through the US. Six different albums of hers were in the top 25 of the Billboard 200 chart in the week ending June 15th.

Many have said this tour has caused a Beatles-like mania, with some fans unable to get tickets and listening to the shows from the parking lots of the stadium.

Others who got tickets have reported "post-concert amnesia" which occurs when a fan is so excited they don't remember the show after.

“She’s just capturing this moment of popularity so perfectly."