Everybody has heard of Taylor Swift. The Eras Tour, her many albums, relationship status, and clever easter eggs have been plastered all over the news. Taylor Swift is the music industry right now. But just how influential is she? How big of an impact has she made, both socially and economically? Turns out, a huge one. She is generating millions of dollars in the cities she performs in, increasing NFL sales, and affecting media all over the world.
Credit: ABC News
Let’s first start off with the famous Eras Tour which is located in over 50 cities (and counting) all over the world. With hundreds of shows and millions of fans, this tour is projected to gross over $2 billion dollars. Not only does this mean millions of dollars in Taylor’s pocket, but also millions in tourism revenue for the cities she visits. When she performed in Chicago, for instance, the Windy City set a record for occupied hotel rooms. The weekend Swift was in Cincinnati, hotels in the area grossed $2.6 million, and fans spent upwards of $48 million dollars in the city. Swifties not only traveled far and wide for these concerts, but they spent an average of $1,300 on tickets, transportation, hotel rooms, food, outfits, and more. Many fans reported that they spent far more than their predicted budget – yet 91% said they would go again. As a result of The Eras Tour not coming to New Zealand, Air New Zealand had to add 14 more flights to Australia the weekend of her appearance in Sydney, accommodating 3,000 more fans. Together, these statistics show the massive economic impact that this tour has made.
Credit: Statically
But fans aren’t only obsessed with Swift’s music, but her love life as well. In early October, rumors started spreading about an alleged relationship between Swift and Travis Kelce, the star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. A couple weeks ago she was spotted at a Chiefs home game, and the internet and the football world exploded. While seemingly everyone was captivated by this budding relationship, Swifties in particular reacted to an extreme degree. . Fanatics reported a 400% increase in Travis Kelce jersey sales, Stubhub reported a huge increase in Chiefs ticket searches, and Kelce added 383,000 followers on Instagram – a larger follower increase than when he won the Superbowl in 2023. Not only did NFL podcasts in general receive a boost after Swift attended the game, but Kelce’s podcast with his brother Jason Kelce, New Heights, became the most streamed one on Apple Podcasts. Many Swift fans even seem to be becoming Chiefs fans just because of this unconfirmed relationship – female viewing, especially that of younger women, rose 63%.
Thus, not only is Taylor dominating the music industry, but she is dominating nearly every aspect of the social and economic ecosystem today.