Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Taylor Swift, two of the most famous pop artists, are both touring the world, while simultaneously stimulating local economies as they go.
According to CNN, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is projected to gross $2.2 billion, and Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour is expected to surpass that by the time it finishes in Oct.
Between the tickets, hotel rooms, restaurants and transportation, local economies are booming from the pop powerhouses visiting their cities. The Eras Tour alone is said to generate around $5 billion in consumer spending.
A usual weekend concert ticket costs around $100, and with added expenses, one could spend around $300. However, the BeyHive and Swifties are going all out for outfits. Local bars are making drinks based on popular songs, like “Lavender Haze,” a popular hit off of Swift’s latest “Midnights” or getting new nail sets from nail technicians that can cost from $60 to $150. Some cities are even recording shortages in glitter, sparkles and beads, as fans are bejeweling entire outfits for these shows.
“People are going to come here to Atlanta who wouldn’t have been here otherwise and are gonna spend a bunch of money,” said Dr. Tom Smith, Emory Goizueta Business School professor, when speaking about Renaissance for an interview with Fox 5.
Beyonce’s Atlanta show is estimated to bring in around $10 million in revenue. Chicago was seeing similar numbers, selling out over 44,000 hotel rooms across the weekend that Swift performed. When Swift performed in Glendale, the concert generated more revenue than this years Superbowl.
After attending both tours in Atlanta, I can confidently say that both had an electric atmosphere, even if the aesthetics of the show were different. Swift’s show was full of bright colors and friendship bracelets, and fans were decked out in outfits displaying different Swift “eras,” whereas Beyonce was metallic with disco ball cowboys everywhere, recreating her latest album cover.
The total cost of traveling to attend the Renaissance tour, including tickets, a hotel room, outfits, transportation and restaurants, was around $1,600 for two people. Staying at a hotel in Atlanta for Beyonce’s show was the way to go. The W Hotel bar had a photobooth for Renaissance-esque photoshoots and they served Beyonce-themed drinks at the restaurant.
Many other companies are capitalizing on these tours to make a profit. In New York City, the ferry line Circle Line Cruises hosted dance lessons for BeyHivers to learn the choreography Beyonce and her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, perform at shows. Tickets for this event were $25, and they had an open bar, as well as a DJ aboard the two-hour ride.
The hard seltzer brand Truly LA hosted a friendship-bracelet making table outside Swift’s Los Angeles, California shows. Swifties could make bracelets ahead of the show and pass them to other fans in the venue, an Era’s Tour tradition that was inspired by a lyric from her song “You’re On Your Own,Kid”.
The positive impacts of Swift and Beyonce’s tour do not seem to be slowing down anytime soon. With Beyonce playing shows in North America through Oct. and Swift headed on the European leg of her tour, both women are headed towards shattering even more glass ceilings.
