Taylor Swift is bringing in ticket sales of more than $US13 million a night on the road – putting her on a trajectory to deliver the highest-grossing tour in music history.
Most of the money goes towards the cost of production, and that sum does not include the additional millions dollars in merchandise sales that the Eras tour is generating. But it still makes Swift, 33, the top-grossing artist in the world and is the biggest tour of her career.Swift is on pace to gross more than $US1 billion , a threshold no artist has ever hit. Through 22 dates, the tour has grossed $US300 million, according to Pollstar, an industry publication.
Swift is also setting a high-water mark for prices – in a year marked by concert inflation. The average ticket to a Swift show costs $US254. Seven of the 25 best-selling acts of the first half of the year are also charging more than $US200 a night. The list includes Bruce Springsteen, at $US224, Phish at $US206, and George Strait at $US282.
Just five years ago, the only two acts that topped $US200 were Britney Spears and Celine Dion. That year’s biggest performer, Ed Sheeran, could be seen for an average of $US89 a night.Since then, the average price of the 25 best-selling tours has jumped by $US37. Adjusted for inflation, the jump is about $US13.60, demonstrating that ticket prices are rising faster than consumer prices generally.
Coincidentally, 2018 happens to be the last time Swift was on tour. Since the Reputation tour in 2018 and even further back to Speak Now in 2011, the cost of seeing Taylor Swift has increased by $US134. That hasn’t stopped more than 1.1 million people from buying tickets.