Swiftienomics

For most musical artists the benchmarks of success include making it on to Billboard’s weekly ranking of the most played songs, an album reaching the Platinum status for sales, or winning a Grammy award. The pop star Taylor Swift may have scored a music industry first, with a mention in the In the US Federal Reserve’s recent Beige Book, their summary of commentary on current economic conditions. According to the report, attendees’ of Swift concerts were also lifting demand for hotel rooms. At a time when artists seek an expanded share of a decelerating recorded music industry and also as they contemplate the threat of AI generated competition, live concerts remain an area of promise. Still recovering from Covid driven cancellations, global concert revenues grew 99% year on year in 2022 to USD 20.35 billion and PWC forecasts 2023 growth of 13% to nearly USD 23 billion – a figure above pre-pandemic levels. Factoring in the re-sale price of Taylor Swift tickets which average USD 700 and are often nearly USD 2000, perhaps this year’s forecast will prove conservative.

Source: PWC, June 2023.