Our Weekly Economic News Roundup: From More Income to Less Weight
October 14, 2023Who Spends What on Food?
October 16, 2023At Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis, a dozen donuts will cost you $63. Selling like hotcakes, one had Taylor Swift’s face, and a second, her signature. Meanwhile, others (shown in our featured image) each had the name of one of her songs.
Typical of Taylornomics, businesses are booming wherever she performs.
Taylornomics
The Eras Tour
From her Eras Tour that began last March and continues through November 2024, Taylor Swift could make as much as $4.1 billion. In addition to tickets, surveyed Swifties said they spent money on hotels, merchandise, food, and clothing. One estimate indicated that the total could be close to $93 million per show. Combined, just for hotels in each city, the bump above normal could be $208 million. At Metlife Stadium a shuttle service, charging $15 a ride, far exceeded typical volume with 2,000 runs a night. Somewhat similarly, Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame, for the first time, had a sellout crowd when they showcased a Taylor Swift exhibit.
At $1,279 a person, Taylornomics takes us to big spending:
The Eras Tour Film
And now, those of us that did not see her in person can go to their local AMC. Filmed during three shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood California, the movie opened on Friday.
Rather than the traditional use of Hollywood studios, Swift negotiated a distribution deal with AMC. As a result, she and AMC will split 57 percent of ticket revenue while theaters will keep the remaining 43 percent. Together, they suggest theaters charge adults $19.89 (Swifts’s birthdate).
The film’s distributor, AMC, reported record ticket presales. At $100 million worldwide, it surpassed previous numbers for 8,500 cinemas in 100 countries. Whereas “Spider-Man: No Way Home’s” $16.9 million had been the record holder for a single day’s sales, Swift “blew past it” at $26 million.
Like the tour, in addition to tickets, vendors have a slew of commodities we can buy. Shown below, the possibilities include friendship bracelets and dedicated popcorn boxes:
Our Bottom Line: The Multiplier
During a U.S. visit in 1934, British economist John Maynard Keynes tried to help us with the Great Depression. He not only gave President Roosevelt some advice but also, (reputedly) crumpled a pile of towels in a restroom rather than one. His goal was to create jobs. Just pay a worker and he or she spends that income, the recipient then spends it, businesses have to expand, and an inflated total (called the multiplier) of spending enters the GDP.
From here, we can leap to Taylornomics with its ripple of spending. Whether attending the tour or the movie, Swifties spend more than the price of a ticket. Then though, businesses, with extra revenue, pay their employees, and they too do some extra spending. Following those dollars, we could see a multiplier that some say will add $5.7 billion to the GDP.
The extra spending is many millions of dollars:
My sources and more: Indicating Taylor Swift’s economic impact, this Washington Post article is a good springboard. In addition, Variety, WSJ, and Time told us more.