Taylor Swift's cultivation of fan relationships one of her biggest strengths
Taylor Swift has had quite the impact on the economy with her Eras Tour as concertgoers spend about $1,300 on average per show, according to a study by QuestionPro. The study notes that if consumer spending continues at this pace till the end of the tour, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour could generate $5 billion in the U.S. economy. Enders Analysis Music Industry Analyst Alice Enders joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss Swift's economic impact.
"[What's] really important about Taylor and the thing that really makes her so different from other people in the industry," the former senior economist at the World Trade Organization says, "is first of all, she’s a singer, songwriter, performer… she calls all the shots."
Enders notes that "one of the most important things" about Swift is her relationship with her fans as "she is on the side of the fans and not on the side of the industry players."
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Video Transcript
BRAD SMITH: Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" has had an economic impact greater than 50 countries is where that impact has been felt. According to a recent study, concertgoers have been spending about $1,300 per show. If that pace continues through the end of the tour, it will add an estimated $5 billion to the US economy.
Here with her insight into the economic juggernaut that is Taylor Swift is Enders Analysis Music Industry Analyst Alice Enders. Great to have you here with us this morning. OK, so just round figures here as we think about that economic impact. What do you calculate that to be? And where do you expect this to continue to show itself strong?
ALICE ENDERS: Well, we're seeing the same level of ticket prices all over the world. I think one of the important things that's going on outside of the US is that Taylor's being really strict about resale. And as you know, we're not really capturing the full cost. If someone spent $7,000 on a ticket, that obviously is going to bulk up ticket revenues.
The heart of this is, of course, the ticket sales themselves. But I think the thing that's really important about Taylor and the thing that really makes her so different from other people in the industry is, first of all, she's a singer, songwriter, performer. She's all by herself on stage. She calls all the shots.
And one of the most important things about Taylor is that she cultivates an incredibly strong relationship, direct relationship with her fans. She is on the side of the fans and not on the side of the industry players, whether it's the venue operators, or Ticketmaster, or anyone else, the record labels, or whatever.
And I think that kind of personal connection-- I haven't really seen that to that extent certainly in the last couple decades in terms of singer/performers. I mean, I think Adele has a very strong connection with her fans, but Taylor has taken it to absolutely the top.
And, of course, she's only 33. She has a lot ahead of her. She's a prolific musician. She's both rerecording her masters and also composing new music all the time. There are so many reasons for her fans to get really excited about seeing her. And with 150 some shows across the world, we're just starting to see the real impact.
Now, one of the things that's different outside the US is, of course, the fact that we're not going to have the same level of travel, hotel, and so on because she's actually-- I mean, here in the UK, she's going to be in all the major cities. Nobody really has to travel to go and see her. But the fact is that the ticket cost is very steep, the merch, everything. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be there.