Taylor Swift performs at the Monumental stadium during her Eras Tour concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 9.Natacha Pisarenko/The Associated Press
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the first tour to cross the billion-dollar mark, according to Pollstar’s 2023 year-end charts.
Not only was Swift’s landmark Eras Tour the No. 1 tour both worldwide and in North America, but she also brought in a whopping US$1.04-billion with 4.35 million tickets sold across 60 tour dates, the concert trade publication found.
Pollstar data is pulled from box office reports, venue capacity estimates, historical Pollstar venue ticket sales data, and other undefined research, collected from Nov. 17, 2022, to Nov. 15, 2023.
Representatives for the publication did not immediately clarify if they adjusted past tour data to match 2023 inflation in naming Swift the first to break the billion-dollar threshold.
Pollstar also found that Swift brought in approximately US$200-million in merch sales and her blockbuster film adaptation of the tour, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, has reportedly earned approximately US$250-million in sales, making it the highest-grossing concert film of all time.
According to their estimates, Pollstar predicts a big 2024 for Swift as well. The magazine projects the Eras Tour will once again reach US$1-billion within their eligibility window, meaning Swift is likely to bring in over US$2-billion over the span of the tour.
Worldwide, Swift’s tour was followed by Beyoncé in second, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band in third, Coldplay in fourth, Harry Styles in fifth, and Morgan Wallen, Ed Sheeran, Pink, The Weeknd and Drake.
In North America, there was a similar top 10: Swift, followed by Beyoncé, Morgan Wallen, Drake, P!nk, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Ed Sheeran, George Strait, Karol G, and RBD.
Beyond the Swift of it all, 2023 was a landmark year for concert sales: worldwide, the top 100 tours of the year saw a 46 per cent jump from last year, bringing in US$9.17-billion compared to 2022′s US$6.28-billion.
In North America, that number jumped from US$4.77-billion last year to US$6.63-billion.
Earlier this week, Swift was named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Last month, Apple Music named her its artist of the year; Spotify revealed she was 2023′s most-streamed artist globally, raking in more than 26.1 billion streams since Jan. 1 and beating Bad Bunny’s three-year record.
Consider 2023 a year of incredible pop music dominance – (Taylor’s Version.)