Taylor Swift has endorsed Kamala Harris as the next president of the US, posting on Instagram after the 10 September presidential debate. The pop superstar signed her post off as “Childless Cat Lady” – a dig at comments made by Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance, which were widely criticised as sexist.
But it’s not just politics that Swift has the power to influence, as her juggernaut Eras Tour proved when it arrived on UK soil this summer, boosting UK spending and preventing the rate of inflation from falling below 2% in June.
Although the American singer-songwriter does not feature on our richest people in the world list, her economic influence is significant. UK fans paid an average of £206 for Eras Tour tickets, and those with VIP packages spent in the region of £400, according to Barclays.
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In a report published before the UK leg of the tour commenced, Barclays said it expected the average fan to spend £848 in total, once travel, accommodation, outfits and other expenses were taken into consideration. The bank estimated that this would provide an injection of almost £1 billion into the UK economy. In other words, there’s a reason the singer’s impact has been dubbed ‘Swiftonomics’.
As a result of her juggernaut Eras Tour, Swift's net worth currently stands at £785.51 million ($1 billion), the BBC reports. From that, an immense £471 million is just from her music and tours. Most other artists see this kind of wealth come from a combination of music and other investments, such as Rihanna and Ed Sheeran.
Swift’s wealth is perhaps unsurprising when you consider the scale of her fame and popularity, which is almost unrivalled. Celebrities spotted at her London shows this summer included David and Victoria Beckham and Paul McCartney. Prime minister Keir Starmer also managed to secure a spot in the sold-out crowd, and pop royalty rubbed shoulders with actual royalty when Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte attended one of the Wembley shows in June.
We delve into Swift's net worth and explore how her success as an artist and businesswoman has helped build her fortune.
Taylor Swift's net worth and Eras Tour
Swift is one of the very few artists who has reached billionaire status from music sales and performing alone, without the need for side hustles to boost her wealth. Two key milestones have included the Eras Tour and her Grammy wins. Swift is the first artist to win Album of the Year four times.
On top of this, Swift was Spotify's most streamed artist in 2023 with over 26.1 billion global streams, from which she earned a staggering £72 million. She currently has around 94 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
According to Forbes, over $500 million of Swift's fortune comes solely from music royalties and touring. Meanwhile, the singer made an estimated $190 million after tax from the first leg of the Eras Tour alone. Forbes also reports that Swift made around $35 million from the first two weeks of screening her concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
But let’s go back – where did Taylor Swift come from and how did her journey into fame begin?
The root of Taylor Swift's net worth
Born on 13 December 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania, Taylor Swift showed an early interest in music and singing. At age 10, she learned to play the guitar and began writing her own songs.
Swift's big break came in 2006 when, at just 17, she signed a record deal with Big Machine Records, a deal that Swift later regretted signing (more on that later). Her debut album, released later that year, was a critical and commercial success, spawning several hit singles, including “Tim McGraw”, “Teardrops On My Guitar” and “Our Song”. The latter became Taylor Swift's first number-one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Although Taylor Swift's career began in the country music market, her music quickly gained mass appeal. She went on to release her second album Fearless in 2008, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and later became the top-selling album of 2009.
In 2010, she released her third album, Speak Now, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and featured hit singles such as “Mine”, “Back to December” and “Mean”. The album showcased Swift's growth as a songwriter and her willingness to experiment with different musical styles.
In 2012, Swift’s fourth album, Red, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and cemented Swift's status as one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
In 2014, Swift released her fifth album, 1989, which marked a departure from her country roots and embraced a full pop sound. The album was a commercial and critical success, winning several awards, including the Grammy for Album of the Year.
Taylor Swift re-released her old music
Under the Big Machine label, Swift released some of her best-selling music. The contract with the record label lasted from 2005 to 2018 and, when the deal was up, the artist switched to Universal’s Republic Records. However, Big Machine owned the original recordings of her first six albums.
Big Machine was acquired by private-equity group Ithaca Holdings, owned by music manager Scooter Braun (now part of the Korean entertainment group, HYBE) and just 17 months later, Braun sold the rights to Swift’s master recordings to a private equity fund. Swift publicly criticised the deal, claiming she was not given the opportunity to buy back her recordings. “This just happened to me without my approval, consultation or consent”.
In 2020 Swift announced she would re-record her first six albums in a bid to regain control of her music – calling her re-releases "Taylor's Version", gambling on her huge fan base to embrace the new recordings.
While motivated by personal reasons, this was also a savvy business decision. By holding the rights to her music, Swift keeps 100% of the royalties and the new releases reduce the marketability of the original masters. All four re-recorded albums – Fearless, Red, Speak Now and 1989 – have topped the Billboard 200 charts.
More recently, Swift surprised fans with the release of her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, which consists of 31 songs. Just one day later, the singer broke the record for Spotify's most-streamed album in a single day.
How Taylor Swift's net worth has rocketed
Most of the singer-songwriter's wealth comes from her music sales and lucrative tours. Her Reputation stadium tour grossed over $345 million in 2018, while her latest Eras stadium tour had generated a staggering $1.04 billion in ticket sales by the end of 2023, according to trade publication Pollstar.
Not all of this revenue goes to the artist, but Swift has many income streams. She owns several properties, including a $50 million apartment in New York City and a $17 million beachfront mansion in Rhode Island, and has an interest in the music streaming service Tidal.
Like many celebrities, Swift also has numerous sponsorship deals with major brands, including Coca-Cola, Keds and Apple. Swift is known for being very selective about the brands she works with – she only partners with those that align with her values and image. She also has a range of merchandise highly sought after by her fans.
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