Texas Standard (08/17/23) Brisbin, Shelly

New York Times reporter Jordyn Holman says while tours like Taylor Swift's Eras Tour and Beyoncé's Renaissance Tour could see revenues far in excess of $1 billion, the implications for hosting cities are so great that they are being factored into the macro-economic view of 2023. "Both Beyoncé and Taylor are expected to generate about $4.5 billion in not just the concerts, but all of the spending that's happening around one another," she explains. In Swift's case, fans are "spending on new outfits, making sure they're wearing all the glitter and shimmery things." Holman also notes fans are booking flights to tour cities and hotel rooms, and engaging with sideline parties. "So it's like a whole economy is being built around the concerts," she says. Cities are capitalizing on these trends, with a cruise ship company hosting a Beyoncé-themed dance party night in New York City when the artist was in town. Holman says this pent-up demand is driving "revenge spending," or the desire to splurge after pandemic-induced abstinence. "This idea is like, you're catching up on lost time, that even spending $2,000 on a ticket doesn't feel like much because you weren't able to before," she notes. "So it's a phenomena that economists have pointed to in terms of fueling the economy and also maybe possibly hoping to engineer the soft landing that the Federal Reserve is really keen on doing."

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