The Eras Tour is Taylor Swift’s most expansive and meaningful tour yet, as Swift performs a multitude of songs from her nearly 20-year career. The Eras tour evokes a strong sense of nostalgia for both Swift and her fans as they go on a journey together through Swift’s many musical, and personal, eras in life.
This tour is much more significant than it may initially seem, being that it is Swift’s first tour following the COVID-19 lockdowns. The opportunity for Taylor Swift and her fans to come together after years stolen by the pandemic has fueled an immense economic and cultural boost for the United States.
It is estimated that Swifties collectively spend about $93 Million per show, according to QuestionPro, a software company. This outstanding number includes ticket prices, merchandise, travel, food, and outfit expenses. The President of QuestionPro Research and Insights, Dan Fleetwood, exclaims, “If Taylor Swift were an economy, she’d be bigger than 50 countries.” The Eras Tour is estimated to boost the United States’ economy alone by nearly $5 Billion–and as the international leg of the Eras Tour resumes, the Swift impact follows.
The predicted success of the Eras Tour led Taylor Swift and her team to release the concert film, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in early October. The announcement of the film alone proved how widespread Swift’s impact is. After the announcement, according to AMC, global pre-sales of the film had surpassed $100 Million.
Back on the Eras Tour, travel expenses have greatly contributed to this economic boost that has been credited to Taylor Swift. According to Visit Seattle and a hotel analytics group known as STR, when Swift performed on a weekend of July in Seattle, she set a record of $7.4 Million for single-day revenue in downtown hotels. Earlier that month, a Major League Baseball All-Star Game placed the previous record which was roughly $5 Million. Additionally, STR calculated that the cities Swift performs in have produced a $208 million bump in hotel room revenue, which is over and above normal seasonal levels.
The overwhelming surge of tourism and economic activity in cities that Swift performs in has increased the need for temporary employment. The usage of Instawork, an application that allows businesses to employ workers by the hour, has only gone up because of Taylor Swift. As the demand of temporary workers increases, so does the wage and possibility of long-term employment. Taylor Swift herself has also directly contributed to this; People magazine has reported that Swift gave every truck driver of hers a $100,000 bonus. She gave bonuses to sound technicians, dancers, caterers, and other staff on tour as well.
Aside from the phenomenal economic boost Swift has caused in the United States, the cultural impact that has been created amongst Swifties and non-Swifties is incredible.
Fans have made it a tradition to wear outfits that reference Swift’s songs, spanning across her discography to celebrate her different eras. Along with outfits, fans trade custom friendship bracelets at shows; the bracelets range from iconic lyrics to the fandom’s inside jokes, with a mirage of colors and beads to match. This unique tradition originated from a lyric in Swift’s song “You’re on Your Own, Kid”, with the lyric being: “Everything you lose is a step you take / So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it”. This seemingly small tradition has made an unlikely, but profound, economic impact: craft businesses have reported shortages in beads and sequins specifically ever since the beginning of the Eras Tour. Local and small businesses are seeing a direct profit as well by selling hand-made friendship bracelets for fans to trade.
Swifties and non-Swifties alike can not seem to escape Taylor Swift’s cultural impact; book, clothing, and grocery stores have been including witty marketing techniques that reference Swift’s songs to grab customers’ attention. More specifically, Barnes & Noble has been recommending books to their customers by pairing them with the Taylor Swift song they are similar to.
The Eras Tour and its impact on the United States is noteworthy and close to historical in both economic and cultural aspects. Currently, Taylor Swift continues the international leg of the Eras Tour. She will return for encore performances in select cities in the United States next year–and without a doubt, her economic and cultural impact will return as well.
