Taylor Swift, Swiftonomics & Concerts

It's the season for concerts in India. And, we can't talk about concerts without talking about Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift's recently concluded Eras tour all over the world from Mar'23 to Dec'24 was the highest grossing tour in history, with sales over $2 billion. It gave birth to Swiftonomics, now a legitimate word referring to the economc impact of the artist's performance on the local economy. Every one in two Americans identifies themselves as a fan, popularly called a Swiftie. Swift fans have flocked to the cities that host concerts to spend money on lodging, food, transportation, and merchandise, think of it similar to the extravaganza for a world sports world cup.

Taylor has gained a reputation for standing up to the music producers. She even re-recorded her originals in an ownership spat with Big Machine, a label company

Taylor Swift became a billionaire in October 2023, thanks to the earnings from her Eras Tour and the value of her previous recorded music catalog. Swift is the first musician to make the billionaire ranking primarily based on her songs and performances! There have been other billionaires like Rihanna, but who made most of their money owning other businesses versus from the music alone. This is a big precedent / legacy for all artists.

Swift is a master business person. She's known to be a control freak, wanting to control all her music rights and her public personality. Her public battles with Spotify and Apple music have benefited many artists thereafter and helped her gain unprecedented bargaining power.

Her story started young, when she knew early on she wanted to be a musician. Even at age 10, Swift demonstrated remarkable persistence, participating in local performances and taking vocal and acting lessons, moving her family to Tennessee from Pennsylvania to support her music career. She went to New York City for exposure in her early teens to sign a record and despite being rejected many times esp for her age by record labels, she remained determined to pursue a music career. Her mother recounted how she told Taylor years ago that her fingers were too small for a 12 string guitar and to play the 6 string instead, when Taylor in fact wanted to play the 12 stringed instrument. That was enough to get Swift determined to practice 4 hours a day, even with bleeding fingers, to master a 12 string guitar. Today, she plays a 12 string guitar.

Learn more about the business of Taylor Swift:

1. The Economist: How to Get Rich - Taylor's Version

2. BBC's Good Bad Billionaire - Swiftonomics

3. Taylor Swift (Acquired's Version)