The Eras Tour remains a juggernaut that cannot be stopped. Taylor Swift could soon overtake Elton John as one of the highest-grossing artists on tour ever. Swift is on track to generate more than a billion dollars from the tour, according to Billboard.
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A sign of things to come, Swift’s Eras Tour ended up causing Ticketmaster to crash when tickets went on sale in November 2022. Initially announced as a domestic tour, Swift planned to play 52 concerts across the United States. In single-day sales, the artist ended up selling more than 2 million tickets with 14 million fans trying to acquire spots at her concerts.
The domestic leg of the tour is estimated to bring in $591 million. That’s higher than other female artists like Madonna. However, it’s much less than the top three tours, which belong to Elton John for his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, Ed Sheeran’s Divide Tour, and U2’s 360 Tour. Those top three tours grossed $887 million, $776 million and $736 million respectively.
However, Swift shows no signs of stopping. Before her domestic tour was finished, Swift added more dates to the tour taking it abroad with stops in Latin America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and South America. That brings her total concerts to 106.
Based on the estimate of $591 million for 52 concerts, Swift’s added international leg of the tour will double that amount, bringing in more than a billion. This will beat out the other artists including John by a fairly large margin.
In an interview with Wall Street Journal, Jarred Arfa, director of operations for Artist Group International, explained why the tour has resonated with audiences. For one, it’s been three years since Swift performed. Likewise, the artist is also mashing up all of her favorites into one concert unlike any other.
“What we’re seeing on this particular Taylor tour is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. It’s pretty astonishing,” he said.
Even Swift herself recognizes that she’s very much living in a cultural moment.
“I’ve just never been this happy in my life in all aspects of my life ever,” Swift said, according to USA Today. “And I just want to thank you for being a part of that. It’s not just a tour. I just sort of feel like my life finally feels like it makes sense. So, I thought I’d play this song, which brings me a lot of happy memories.”
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
