Taylor Swift becomes a billionaire

Taylor Swift is officially a billionaire after the astounding success of the Eras tour, according to a new report.

Swift made her debut on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index this week, when her estimated net worth tipped over to US$1.1 billion (A$1.7 billion).

The pop sensation now joins the ranks of just a handful of musicians who have reached billionaire status based primarily on the success of her music and performances.

Rihanna, for instance, became a billionaire in 2021 after launching Fenty, according to Forbes, while Beyonce and Jay Z reached the milestone in 2017 but also had stakes in a variety of business ventures.
 

“She’s not just a performer — she’s an economic phenomenon,” Chris Leyden, director of growth marketing at SeatGeek, told CNN of Swift.

The Eras tour is forecast to become the highest-grossing tour of all time, anticipated to bring in US$2.2 billion (A$3.5 billion) in North American ticket sales alone.

Swift’s record-breaking Eras tour has even been said to have boosted the US economy, with her 53 US concerts in 2023 estimated to add US$4.3 billion (A$6.8 billion) to the country’s GDP, according to Bloomberg.

From her two-week Australian leg next year, to which she added two extra dates after unprecedented demand, Swift is forecast to earn A$35 million — about A$5 million per concert.
 

Swift reaching billionaire status is particularly impressive when considered alongside the broader decline in pop star revenues in the streaming era.

Swift has been a prolific songwriter over her nearly 20 year career, but her negotiations around streaming and decision to re-record her first six albums enabled her to translate that star power into serious financial success.
 

Swift’s wealth was estimated by Bloomberg to stem from US$400 million earned from the music she has released since 2019, when she took control of her own masters, US$370 million from ticket sales and merchandise, US$120 million from streaming on Spotify and YouTube, US$110 million from her five personal properties and US $80 million in royalties from music sales (A$630 million, $580 million, $190 million, $170 million and $125 million, respectively).

And all of this came before Swift’s latest album release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which dropped in Australia on Friday.

The original album is among most popular and received 10 Grammy nominations when it was first released in 2014.