The average price of a Taylor Swift ticket has more than doubled since the last time she was on tour, and her venues are so big (average capacity 54,000) that she’s taking in $13 million a night. Bloomberg says that puts “Eras” on course to be the highest-grossing music tour in history. Pollstar, a trade publication, says the 50-stop tour has taken in $300 million so far and could gross $1.3 billion in all. What’s striking is Swifties’ willingness to pay an average of $254 per ticket given the last time she toured, in 2018, the equivalent figure was $119. What gives? Covid may have given fans a new-found appreciation for real life, or Swift may simply have found her true market value and given the pop peloton a leg up in the process: seven of the top 25 touring acts now charge more than $200 on average, compared with two (Britney Spears and Celine Dion) five years ago. But there is nothing intrinsically expensive about good music. Tickets for the Proms this year start at £8.
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