Swiftonomics: what we can learn from Singapore multiplying millions from Taylor Swift’s Eras tour
- Written by Tommy Soesmanto, Deputy Director - Undergraduate Business Programs; Senior Lecturer in Economics and Statistics, Griffith Business School, Griffith University
When Taylor Swift picks a country to “Shake It Off”, it might help the nation’s economy to shake off the impacts of the global economic slowdown.
Since the World Bank announced the possibility of a global recession in its 2022 report[1], fears that the world will experience an extended period of economic contraction has plagued many countries.
In January, the World Bank predicted[2] the global economy would slow down for the third consecutive year in 2024. According to some economists, this makes a recession likely in the near future.
The impact of a global recession may vary from one country to another. But with disrupted supply chains and cash flow, the common symptoms and effects[3] are hikes in unemployment and poverty rates, rising prices, reduced profit, and default for businesses.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift may have an answer to address these challenges. Beyond micro and macroeconomics, business students should be studying Swiftonomics[4] – especially the economic impact of Swift’s current global tour.
The record-breaking Eras tour
Eras[5] is Swift’s sixth concert tour. It began in March 2023 and is scheduled to conclude in December 2024. Consisting of 152 shows performed across five continents, critics have given it highly positive reviews for its grand aesthetic design and immersive ambience.
The tour is already the highest-grossing music tour ever[6] and the first to reach US$1 billion in total ticket gross sales globally. More impressively, that total did not yet include the sales of the Eras Tour film, which reportedly made US$250 million, plus another US$200 million in merchandise sold during the tour.
What does this tour have to do with the global recession?
Music and the multiplier effect
First-year economics students would tell you that the impacts of Swift’s tour were not limited to the fantastic figures outlined above. In fact, her tour could result in a multiplier effect that could benefit an economy.
Simply defined, the multiplier effects measure how a change in economic activity, like investment or spending, will have a spill-over amplified impact on the various sectors and the total output of a country.
This phenomenon is not new[7]. The concerts by other big names in music, such as those of UK-based band Coldplay[8] and South Korea’s boy-group BTS[9], have also resulted in such effect. However, the scale of Swift’s tour has been considerably stronger compared to others.
For example, let’s look at the multiplier effects of her March concerts[10] in Singapore.
