Taylor Swift set up record-breaking Eras of $1bn tour box offices

The ‘Eras Tour’ surpassed previous record holder Elton John’s farewell tour, data shows.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the first tour to gross $US1bn ($1.52bn), capping off a record-breaking year for the pop superstar. Picture: Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is the first tour to gross $US1bn ($1.52bn), capping off a record-breaking year for the pop superstar.

The tour brought in an estimated $US1.04bn this year, concert trade publication Pollstar said. And it’s set to gross even more as it heads overseas, including stops in Australia in February.

Swift surpassed the previous record holder, Elton John, whose long-running Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour grossed more than $US939m, Pollstar said.

Swift’s record came quicker. Pollstar said the tour surpassed $US1bn with 60 shows over eight months. John played more than five times as many shows during his farewell tour, which started in 2018 and ended this year.

Pollstar said its numbers represent box office reports, ticket prices in each market and how many people fit in a venue.

It crunched data from November 17, 2022, to November 15, 2023.

The Eras Tour is a greatest hits type show, with Swift performing songs spanning her 17-year career. She played in football stadiums that held more than 70,000 people, with her fans filling nearby restaurants and hotels, giving cities an economic boost.

Despite performers charging higher prices for general-­admission tickets, concertgoers have been paying up to see their favourite superstars after the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the industry.

Pollstar said the average ticket price to see Swift was $US238.95. Demand to see her was so high that Ticketmaster melted down, leading to a congressional hearing where senators questioned the company’s business practices.

After touring North and South America this year, the Eras Tour is heading to Australia, Asia and Europe next year. Besides the tour, Swift has released two re­recorded albums this year, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version.) Last week, Time Magazine named her Person of the Year.

Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour was the second highest-grossing concert in the past year, Pollstar said, bringing in more than $US579m. Bruce Springsteen came in third with more than $US379m, followed by Coldplay at $US325m and Harry Styles with $US290m.