Taylor Swift is one of the most popular musicians in the world. There is no denying that her fame and success are at a level that few have achieved. Her loyal fans, “Swifties,” have created a community unlike any other. With millions of followers online, Swift is no longer just making an impact on her fans, but on the entire world.
Swift has released 10 studio albums, along with 3 re-recordings of her earlier work. She has won 12 Grammys, 14 MTV Music Awards, and has become the first female artist in history to accrue more than 100 million listeners across all streaming platforms. It’s not news that Swift is extremely successful in her career, but her influence has sprouted further than the music industry: She has even impacted the United States economy.
Many economists have begun to refer to her impact as “Swiftonomics.” Her current tour, The Eras Tour, is the main reason for such impact. Each show grosses around $13 million, according to bloomberg.com, putting her on track for the highest grossing tour in music history. This is from ticket and merchandise sales in addition to sponsorships. It is predicted that her tour will gross about $1 billion, more than Elton John’s farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which holds the current world record.
Ticket sales are not only aiding the economy, but the show is predicted to generate $5 billion in consumer spending, according to time.com. Excluding tickets, consumers are spending an average of $1,300 on new outfits, hotels and travel in each city Swift performs in. According to ustravel.org, cities where Swift performed saw a 106 percent increase in hotel stays and dinner reservations.
In addition to The Eras Tour, Swift filmed Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which hit the theaters on Oct. 12. This movie, meant to be an experience for fans unable to attend the tour, turned into something much bigger. According to bbc.com, the film has already grossed around 100 million and close to $26 million on first-day sales alone.
Also, Swift has been spotted attending multiple Kansas City Chiefs games, rumored to be supporting their star tight end Travis Kelce. Following her first appearance at the Chiefs game versus the Chicago Bears, Kelce’s jersey sales spiked 400 percent and he climbed to fifth on the jersey sales list. Local fans who wanted to catch a glimpse of the pop star helped to blow up ticket sales for the following week’s Chiefs-Jets game. With the help of the NFL’s promotion of Swift’s appearance all week through commercials, ticket sales rose 175 percent according to cbsnews.com.
Swift’s influence continues to grow every day with increasing consumer spending for the movie, concert tickets, NFL tickets and merchandise. The famous singer no longer has control solely over the music industry, but has expanded her power into the economics of the United States, with no sight of slowing down.