Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour on track to be highest grossing tour of all time: report

Musician Taylor Swift’s current ‘Eras’ tour is on track to become the highest grossing tour of all time, reported CNN this week.

The tour could gross an estimated $2.2 billion in North American ticket sales alone, reported CNN, quoting survey data from research firm QuestionPro.

This total represents primary ticket sales for the US shows that Swift just concluded in Los Angeles including a second North American leg coming next year, which includes Canadian stops, as requested by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In November, CNN reported tickets for her shows going for up to $21000.

Swift kicked off the highly-anticipated ‘Eras’ tour in March. The roughly three-hour long set list that spans 14 years of her career.

The tour is slated to conclude in late 2024.

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The estimated totals are the latest example of the incredible demand for entertainment and experiences that has helped boost the economy, and more specifically, is a staggering show of Swift’s star power and influence on local US economies.

The average price of pre-sale and first sale tickets was $455.78, and Swift has 68 shows total in North America. The survey did not take into account whether respondents bought one ticket or multiple tickets, added the report.

The average attendance per show was 72,459, which brings a grand total of $2.2 billion — making ‘Eras’ the highest-grossing tour ever.

For perspective, Elton John’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour was the previous record holder, grossing over $887 million from 2018 to 2023, added CNN quoting Larry Miller, director of the music business program at New York University.

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Earlier this year, in May, Forbes had estimated than Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ tour may out-earn Taylor Swift by roughly $500 million, coming in at $2.4 billion.

‘Eras’ is considered one of the biggest social events of the year, with concertgoers doling out thousands of dollars on tickets, outfits, transportation and travel accommodations.

Concertgoers participating in an online poll of 862 people who say they attended at least one ‘Eras’ concert said they spent an average of $291.62 each on their outfits, $214.80 on merchandise and $131.48 for food and drinks.

“Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour is rewriting the playbook of entertainment economics,” said Chris Leyden, director of growth marketing at popular resale platform, SeatGeek, CNN quoted him as saying.

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SeatGeek assessed the average resale price of an ‘Eras’ ticket to come in at $1,607, up 741% from her previous ‘Reputation’ tour.

The peripheral economic impact of Swift’s tour is also wide-ranging.

Earlier this month, truckers for the tour were given $100,000 checks each, according to media reports.

Food banks across the country in the communities where she performed have said they received hefty donations from Swift. For example, one food bank network in Arizona said Swift’s donation allowed it to send several tractor-trailers filled with 40,000 pounds of fresh produce to its member food banks, added CNN.

Retailers have also seen a boost from concert-goers looking for clothes to depict the theme of Swift’s ‘Eras’.

Swift even earned a nod in the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a collection of survey responses from businesses around the country. According to one business, “May was the strongest month for hotel revenue in Philadelphia since the onset of the pandemic, in large part due to an influx of guests for the Taylor Swift concerts in the city,” Fed officials wrote, added CNN.