Taylor Swift has become the first artist with a billion-dollar grossing tour as her ‘Eras Tour’ closes with an estimated $1.04 billion in domestic sales. It could be the first tour to gross over $2 billion when it heads overseas.
Elton John’s “Farewell Yellow Brick Road” tour was the holder of the highest-grossing touring artist title previously, with $939 million at close. What should be noted it that it only took Taylor Swift 60 shows over the course of the last eight months to reach her figure. Sir Elton John started his tour in 2018 and only ended it this year—amounting to many more shows to reach nis near-billion-dollar figure.
‘The Eras Tour’ encompassed Taylor Swift’s 17-year career, with Swift’s tour generating an estimated $4.6 billion in consumer spending. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that the entire domestic leg of the tour could boost add a $5.7 billion boost to the economy. With all of the hub-bob over sky-high ticket prices, Pollstar reports the average ticket price at $238.95 per seat.
The demand to see Taylor Swift and the experience of buying tickets from Ticketmaster afterward has led to several Congressional inquiries. Both the TICKET Act and the STOP Act in the U.S. House of Representatives is aimed at addressing speculative ticket pricing, junk fees, and other consumer complaints surrounding the live event ticket purchasing process.
Several U.S. Senators introduced the Fans First Act in that chamber, which aims to address flaws by increasing transparency in ticket sales, protecting consumer from fake tickets, overpriced tickets, and holding bad actors who engage in illegal ticket selling practices accountable.
The European leg of the ‘Eras Tour’ kicks off in May 2024 in Nanterre France before wrapping up in August in London. Her 48-date European leg is slightly shorter than the U.S. leg, so it will be interesting to see how the gross revenue compares.
