After Taylor Swift has offered the last of her eight concerts at Wembley Stadium in London on August 20, and will resume from October 18 to December 8 the 18 shows remaining of his acclaimed The Eras Tour In the United States and Canada, it is undeniable that he will end the year amassing stratospheric earnings never before seen in the music industry. In the absence of official data from his team in the future, last December Pollstar The US-based company estimated that the tour had grossed $1.039 billion from March 17 to November 12, 2023. However, when considering only the first 60 shows, the figure is now obsolete: in the rest of 2023 and this 2024, not counting the three dates cancelled in Vienna, the tour has sold out 89 more stadiums.
With complete certainty, once it is completed in a few months, The Eras Tour will surpass the $2.5 billion barrier, making it by far the most lucrative tour in history. Elton John, who previously held the record with his Farewell Yellow Brick Roadreached $939 million. However, he achieved this by taking the stage 330 times between September 8, 2018 and July 8, 2023. It is also likely that Coldplay will surpass 1 billion by the end of their current The Music of the Spheres World Tourbut the band can’t compete with Swift’s numbers. She, without a doubt, plays in another league: her own.
The proof is in his assets. Although Forbes The magazine included her on its billionaires list in October 2023, estimating her net worth at $1.1 billion at the time; it updated the figure to $1.3 billion in April 2024. According to the magazine, her fortune includes nearly $600 million generated by royalties and tours, a catalog valued at approximately $600 million, and about $125 million in real estate.
Weeks later, the same publication placed her in fourth place on its list. list of richest famous women in america who have made their own fortunes, behind only Oprah Winfrey ($3 billion), Kim Kardashian ($1.7 billion) and Rihanna ($1.4 billion). But there is one factor that should not be overlooked: unlike them, Swift has amassed her fortune solely and exclusively through her music.
As a recent example, the cinema release of The Eras Tour generated 267 million at the box office worldwide. As for his discography, although in 2023 he led the top of the ranking of the best-selling artists thanks to Midnights already the Taylor’s Version of Speak Now and 1989everything seems to indicate that This year he will repeat the feat. His latest feature film, The Tortured Poets Departmentreleased in April, has sold 2.47 million copies in the United States, not counting the streamingsSpecifically, 1.07 million on CD, 988,000 on vinyl and 395,000 digital downloads.
“For years, he has been very careful to control each and every thing he says or does. Partnering with a company means linking up with a third party, which always entails risks.”
Yeray S. Iborra
Even though she doesn’t currently have any brand deals or launched her own fashion or makeup line, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t done it in the past. From 2008 to 2010, she starred in several campaigns for the jeans brand LEI Jeans; in 2010, she was the face of the NatureLuxe collection CoverGirl; between 2011 and 2014, he launched five fragrances with the Elizabeth Arden company; and from 2013 to 2018, she was an ambassador for Diet Coke. Even a year after publicly criticize Apple Music for not paying royalties to artists during the three-month free trial period offered to new users, had no problem appearing in a advertisement from Cupertino in 2016.
What has changed since then? The question has several answers, but in essence, they can be summed up in two key points. First, of course, her recent billionaire status. And second, the hard blow that was for her when music mogul Scooter Braun, through Ithaca Holdings, acquired her former record label, Big Machine Records, and the masters of her first six albums for $300 million in June 2019.
That setbackwhich shortly after gave rise to the re-recordings of those albums (the Taylor’s Version), marked a turning point in her career and the beginning of an intense struggle to regain full control of her work and her image. The sacrifice has paid off. As she stated in December, when Time named her Person of the Year 2023: “This is the moment in which I feel most proud and happy, and also the moment in which I feel most creatively fulfilled and free.”
“If she doesn’t accept ads, it’s because she doesn’t need to. She doesn’t need to expand her business with other initiatives because, right now, there is no brand bigger and more recognized than the Taylor Swift brand,” says Yeray S. Iborra, author of the book Taylor Swift Phenomenonpublished by Sílex Ediciones. “For years, she has made a great effort to control each and every one of the things she says or does. Associating with a company implies linking up with a third party, which always entails risks. A collaboration of this type could involve her in some controversy indirectly, either due to an erroneous statement or by supporting initiatives that do not agree with her fans. Therefore, it is understandable that she prefers to avoid any type of collateral damage.”
Just because he hasn’t signed any advertising contracts in over five years doesn’t mean companies aren’t benefiting from his colossal media clout. Quite the contrary. Since he went public with his relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce and attended a dozen games to watch him in action, sales of the tight end’s jerseys have skyrocketed. increased by almost 400%the ratings audience grew by 7%and the interest in American football rose 20% among millennials and 24% among Gen Z, especially among women. In addition, the artist contributed to generating a brand value of $331.5 million for both the Chiefs and the NFL.
Her wardrobe deserves special mention, another element that reinforces her narrative. The Eras Tourwears designs by Atelier Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Alberta Ferretti, Vivienne Westwood and Christian Louboutin, all selected by her trusted stylist, Joseph Cassell Falconer. However, off the stage, at awards ceremonies and the few photocalls in which he appears, he maintains a more discreet profile. He consciously avoids houses to prove to her legion of fans that despite her superstar status, she is still accessible, and that if they want to really get to know her, all they have to do is listen to her songs. She may have a private jet, but at this point she doesn’t need to win Anna Wintour’s approval. Despite her invitations, she hasn’t attended the Met Gala since 2016. That time, she wore a metallic Louis Vuitton dress.
