By Helena Kelly
Before Taylor Swift had even stepped foot on stage for her much-anticipated ‘Eras’ mega-tour, it had already broken records.
Nearly 2.4 million tickets were snapped up on the first day of pre-sale alone – the most amount sold in a single day.
Now experts expect the 52-night, 20-city megatour will rank among the highest grossing of all time, with Forbes estimating the songstress could net anywhere between $500 million and $1.5 billion.
It has led to a phenomenon called ‘Swiftonomics’ due to its infectious effect on local economies, as fans spend thousands of pounds on hotels, travel, food and drink and costumes in preparation for the event.
So-called ‘Swifties’ have paid as much as $42,000 resale tickets, $200 on costumes sold through Etsy and countless dollars travelling across the country for shows.
Experts estimate Swift’s 52-night, 20-city ‘Eras’ megatour will rank among the highest grossing of all time
And local outlets reported that many hotels had increased their prices in time for the influx of concert-goers descending on their cities.
In Nashville, the La Quinta Inn & Suites hotel was charging $1,150 for one night on the first Friday Swift arrived in town.
In Foxborough, Massachusetts, the price of a room in the Renaissance Hotel trebled during the weekend Swift played at the city’s Gilette Stadium. The fee increased from $250 a night to $750, according to WBZ.
A slew of local restaurants and bars are also cashing in on the trend: in Arizona a bar called The Lola offered a pre-party to both of her tickets offering Eras-themed cocktails and food – for a $20 entrance fee.
In Philadelphia, a ‘Tay-Gate’ party at the venue Xfinity Live was selling tickets for $50.
On TikTok, fans have described paying as much as $4,000 in total for the one night
Meanwhile in Tampa Bay, local newspaper The Tampa Bay Times reported that car parking charges at the concert venue where Swift performed had swelled to $53 for the event.
Official Eras Tour merchandise includes $75 hoodies, $65 crewnecks and $45 T-Shirts.
But many fans have instead been turning to Etsy for costumes to wear to the event.
A search for ‘Taylor Swift Eras Tour’ on the crafts site reveals nearly 40,000 results, including outfits designed on costumes Swift has worn in the past.
Some are selling for as much as $200.
The amount of cashing in on Swift’s tour is so rife one fan even jokingly tried to sell their used contact lenses for $10,000 – claiming they were ‘contacts that have seen Taylor Swift’s Era’s tour.
Economists say the popularity of the tour has been in part sparked by the pandemic which has given fans a newfound appreciation for live concerts and experiences. Fans are pictured at Swift’s Atlanta show
Experts have coined the term ‘Swiftonomics’ to describe the infectious effect the Eras tour has had on local economies, as
The term ‘Swiftonomics’ is a reimagining of the concept ‘Rockonomics’ which was coined in the early 2000s and was used to refer to the booming economy of rock music.
On TikTok, fans have described paying upwards of $4,000 in total for the one night.
In one video posted by finance influencer Tyler Wright, three concert-goers explain they spent $385 for their tickets – or $128 for each.
On top of that they splurged $1,000 on flights, $1,200 on hotels, $700 on drinks and food and $500 on their outfits.
In another clip, a user called Jilly explained she had spent $3,000 on a front-row ticket before complaining she had to listen to a nearby fan scream for the whole concert.
A search of ‘Taylor Swift Eras Tour’ on crafts website Etsy reveals nearly 40,000 results, including outfits designed on costumes Swift has worn in the past.
Fans are happy to spend hundreds of dollars on cosumes based on Swift’s previous outfits
Economists say the popularity of the tour has been in part sparked by the pandemic which has given fans a newfound appreciation for live concerts and experiences.
When tickets first went on sale last November Economics professor Melissa Kearney, from the University of Maryland, told Bloomberg: ‘The pandemic in general changed the way people think about what’s really important to them, and what brings them joy.’
Other outlets have reported the extreme length that fans will go to save up for a ticket.
In November, 27-year-old superfan Lindsey Morris told Buzzfeed that she had a separate savings account dedicated to saving for Taylor Swift tickets.
The term ‘Swiftonomics’ is a reimagining of the concept ‘Rockonomics’ which was coined in the early 2000s and was used to refer to the booming economy of rock music
She had been depositing into the account for three years – ever since she missed out on Swift’s last tour, Reputation.
Hysteria around Swift’s tour first broke out in November when tickets went on sale through Ticketmaster and the site instantly crashed.
The chaos led to an out-of-control resale market which saw passes to the concert go for tens of thousands of dollars.
Resale site StuHub was offering seats to a show in Florida ranging from $500 to $42,000 each.
By comparison, initial tickets were initially priced between $73 to $666.
Some 320 fans then filed a lawsuit against the ticketing giant and its parent-company, Live Nation, for ‘intentionally’ charging ‘sky high fees’ and selling the ‘tickets to scalpers.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk