Trying to Understand Taylor Swift Economics
Anyone who knows me knows I am not a pop culture person or a current music person. Some might say I'm no music person at all and they're probably right. But I love football. And while I have no clue about the latest within the popular conversations of people 30 and 40 years younger than I am, I'm not stupid enough to not recognize the Taylor Swift effect.
The NFL is estimating that the Super Bowl, before even being played, may see a 70% to 100% increase in viewership because of Taylor Swift. And her interest in the Super Bowl is because she is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce.
And there endeth my commentary and knowledge of pop culture.
But I love economics and business. So when I heard the guesstimations on the increased viewership of the Super Bowl, it got me thinking about what economic impact Taylor Swift has… and not to the NFL.
Some quick reading gave me the following statistics:
Her Eras Tour in Japan will boost the economy by $128 million
Overall, the concert tour could exceed an economic impact of $10 billion
Ticket sales from the North American sites alone could gross $2.2 billion
Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on clothing related to Taylor Swift, friendship beads, and other merchandise
Locally, for every $100 spent per performance, an estimated $300 in ancillary dollars are spent on hotels, food, and transportation
According to economic experts, the Taylor Swift economic effect is greater than The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, any professional sports team, or most international sports leagues, and greater than some smaller countries. It turns out Taylor Swift is not just a person. She's not just an icon. She’s not just a musical genius. She’s just not a girlfriend of a future NFL Hall of Famer.
She is her own industry.
Not very often do you find one person having such an economic impact. Yes, some people help her--dedicated loyal and intelligent people. But the business of Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift. To accurately compare her, in her genre she is Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, Henry Ford.
It’s time to equate Taylor Swift in the proper comparison: She is a musical titan who should be compared to some of the great economic drivers in the history of our world.
