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 marks the biggest tour of her career.
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Taylor Swift performs on the opening night of the soon-to-be record-breaking Eras Tour, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Four months in, Swift is on pace to gross more than US$1 billion, a threshold no artist has ever hit. Through 22 dates, the tour has grossed US$300 million, according to Pollstar, an industry publication. She was expected to perform more than 50 dates in the US in all and then go abroad. Pollstar estimates Eras could top US$1.3 billion.
That’s light years ahead of the current top-grossing tour – with Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour expected to total US$887 million) when it wraps in Sweden on July 8. The closest other competitors are Ed Sheeran (US776 million), the norotiously wealthy U2 (US$736 million) and recent Glastonbury headliners Guns N’ Roses (US$584,000).
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Swift is also setting a high-water mark for prices – in a year marked by concert inflation. The average ticket to a Swift costs US$254. Seven of the 25 bestselling acts of the first half of the year are also charging more than US$200 a night – a list which includes Bruce Springsteen at US$224, Phish at US$206 and country star George Strait at US$282.
Just five years ago, the only two acts that topped US$200 were Britney Spears and Celine Dion. That year’s biggest performer, Ed Sheeran, could be seen for an average of US$89 a night.
Taylor Swift’s set times are averaging around more than three hours on The Eras Tour. Photo: @taylorswift/Instagram
Since then, the average price of the 25 bestselling tours has jumped by US$37, and adjusted for inflation, ticket prices are rising faster than consumer prices generally.
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You can see what’s happened if you group it into tiers.
Before 2018, in the US almost every ticket cost between US$75 and US$130, though a couple of acts charged at the higher end. Now, there are more loosely defined A-list acts charging upwards of US$200 than there are top performers charging less than US$100.
The Eras Tour is Taylor Swift’s fifth major concert tour. Photo: @taylorswift/Instagram
Coincidentally, 2018 happens to be the last time Swift was on tour – when a ticket to see the Reputation Tour cost “just” US$119.4.
So there you have it – the cost of seeing Taylor Swift has increased by US$134. That has not stopped more than 1.1 million people from buying tickets.
