[KENNEDY FELTON]

TAYLOR SWIFT’S RECORD-SHATTERING “ERAS” TOUR CAME TO A CLOSE SUNDAY IN VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA. AFTER NEARLY TWO YEARS ON THE ROAD… THE TOUR NOT ONLY helped solidify HER STATUS AS A BILLIONAIRE…  BUT ALSO LEFT A GLOBAL ECONOMIC FOOTPRINT FEW ARTISTS COULD MATCH.

OVER THE COURSE OF MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED SHOWS ACROSS FIVE CONTINENTS… SWIFT CAPTIVATED FANS AND EVEN ATTRACTED NEW ONES. 

BUT IT WASN’T JUST HER “SWIFTIES” WHO FELT THE IMPACT. CITIES AND LOCAL ECONOMIES AROUND THE WORLD EXPERIENCED A SURGE IN TOURISM… BUSINESS… AND JOB CREATION – THANKS TO THE TOUR.

ACCORDING TO THE U-S TRAVEL ASSOCIATION, ATTENDEES SPENT AN AVERAGE OF 13-HUNDRED DOLLARS ON TRAVEL, HOTELS, FOOD, AND MERCHANDISE.

IN VANCOUVER – WHERE THE FINAL THREE SHOWS TOOK PLACE – THE CITY’S TOURISM AGENCY ESTIMATED THE IMPACT TO BE A STAGGERING $157 MILLION IN ECONOMIC BOOSTS.

ACROSS THE U-S … THE TOUR REDEFINED CONCERT IMPACT. IN CALIFORNIA FOR EXAMPLE – THE ‘CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR JOBS AND THE ECONOMY’ REPORTED THAT HER SIX-NIGHT RUN THERE ADDED 33-HUNDRED JOBS AND 160-MILLION DOLLARS IN LOCAL EARNINGS.

IN PITTSBURGH, SWIFT’S TWO SHOWS RESULTED IN THE HIGHEST WEEKEND HOTEL OCCUPANCY SINCE THE PANDEMIC – AND THE SECOND-HIGHEST WEEKEND OCCUPANCY IN THE CITY’S HISTORY. THE DIRECT ECONOMIC SPENDING? AN ESTIMATED 46-MILLION DOLLARS.

THE RIPPLE EFFECTS EVEN EXTENDED TO RIDE-SHARING SERVICES. LYFT REPORTED A 31-PERCENT INCREASE IN RIDES IN NEW ORLEANS DURING SWIFT’S VISIT.

BUT WHILE THE “ERAS” TOUR BROKE RECORDS… IT WASN’T WITHOUT ITS SHARE OF CONTROVERSIES.

ONE OF THE BIGGEST – SWIFT’S PRIVATE JET USAGE. IN 20-22… UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA STUDENT JACK SWEENEY GAINED ATTENTION FOR CREATING BOTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH THE HANDLE “CELEBRITY JETS” TO TRACK PRIVATE JET ACTIVITIES OF HIGH PROFILE FIGURES …  INCLUDING SWIFT.

USING DATA *FROM “CELEBRITY JETS”…. A JULY 20-22 REPORT BY THE YARD CLAIMED THE SINGER HAD TAKEN 170 FLIGHTS ON HER PLANE SINCE JANUARY OF THAT YEAR… REVEALING HER TO BE THE TOP OFFENDER WHEN IT COMES TO CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS.

A SPOKESPERSON FOR SWIFT DEFENDED HER… TELLING THE “L-A TIMES” HER JET IS LOANED OUT REGULARLY TO OTHER INDIVIDUALS.

ACCORDING TO FLIGHT TRACKING DATA FROM JetSpy… SWIFT LOGGED A TOTAL OF 225 FLIGHT HOURS WITH 98 FLIGHTS SO FAR THIS YEAR.

AND THEN – THE TICKETMASTER DEBACLE. OVERWHELMING DEMAND FOR “THE ERAS TOUR” TICKETS CRASHED THE PLATFORM.. LEAVING FANS FRUSTRATED AND EMPTY HANDED. SKY-HIGH RESALE PRICES AND ACCUSATIONS OF UNFAIR PRACTICES EVEN SPARKED A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. 

AS SWIFT CONCLUDES THIS MONUMENTAL “ERA” OF HER CAREER… SHE SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN. NOT ONLY DID SHE WRAP HER TOUR… BUT SHE ALSO DROPPED HER FIRST-EVER BOOK IN NOVEMBER… TAKING FANS BEHIND THE SCENES OF HER GLOBAL JOURNEY.

AND, OF COURSE – HER MUCH-TALKED-ABOUT RELATIONSHIP WITH KANSAS CITY CHIEFS TIGHT END TRAVIS KELCE HAS KEPT HER IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

SO WHAT COULD BE NEXT FOR THE GLOBAL SUPERSTAR?

FAN CULTURE EXPERTS SPECULATE THAT A BEHIND-THE-SCENES DOCUMENTARY OR SERIES COULD BE ON THE HORIZON… ACCORDING TO NEWSWEEK. REPORTS FROM SHOWS INDICATE CAMERA CREWS HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING SWIFT AND HER FAMILY… SUGGESTING A POSSIBLE “ERAS TOUR” FILM MAY BE IN THE WORKS.

OTHERS BELIEVE SWIFT MAY CONTINUE TO EXPERIMENT WITH NEW GENRES. WHILE SHE STARTED HER CAREER IN COUNTRY MUSIC… HER RECENT ALBUMS – INCLUDING MIDNIGHTS AND THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT – SHOWCASE HER EVOLVING ARTISTRY.

ANOTHER LIKELY MOVE? MORE RE-RECORDINGS. SWIFT HAS BEEN SYSTEMATICALLY RECLAIMING HER EARLY CATALOG… RE-RECORDING HER PREVIOUS ALBUMS UNDER THE “TAYLOR’S VERSION” BANNER. 

THIS MOVE STEMS FROM A DISPUTE OVER THE RIGHTS TO HER ORIGINAL MASTERS… WHICH WERE SOLD BY HER FORMER MANAGER SCOOTER BRAUN.

BUT AS ONE FAN CULTURE EXPERT TELLS NEWSWEEK… IT’S GOING TO TAKE A WHILE FOR SWIFTIES TO ADJUST TO A NEW NORMAL NOT HAVING HER ON TOUR ALMOST EVERY NIGHT.