Taylor Swift unleashes next phase of ‘Swiftonomics’ with new film and docuseries
Long after the last stadium has emptied, superstar Taylor Swift has turned the global Eras tour into a long-lasting business engine with her latest move set to milk every dollar.
Just when you thought Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour had faded, the pop superstar is back and she is about to make even more money for herself and the economy.
The Eras Tour: The Final Show movie, a full concert film capturing the last night of her sold-out tour in Vancouver, is set to drop on Friday on the Disney+ streaming platform.
On the same day, Swift will also release the first two episodes of a six-part docuseries, The End of an Era, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look of the Eras tour, her team and life on the road.
“Swiftonomics” – a term even used by the Bank of England – was coined in 2023 to reflect the economic impact Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour had on local and world economies and its set to continue, experts believe.
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The latest releases are part of the artist’s strategy of maximising her returns from the tour – and it is a well established strategy, says Angel Zhong, Professor of Finance at RMIT University.
“Fans who’ve invested heavily continue spending to validate past investment. Each release feels like preserving rather than initiating commitment,” she said.
“Surprise drops and Easter eggs mimics gaming psychology, keeping fans engaged because they never know when the next reward arrives.
“Swift is an outlier in execution, not principle. The model exists in gaming, sports, and K-pop. What’s unusual is applying this to a Western solo artist with such precision.”
In Australia, an estimated 600,000 saw her perform at three sellout shows at the MCG and four at Sydney’s Accor stadium
During her visit down under, Dr Zhong estimated the tour pumped at least $558m into the national economy through ticket sales, flights, hotels, merchandise, restaurants and tourism-related spending.
Business Sydney estimated the concerts gave a $113m boost to the city’s economy while KPMG estimated the combined value of all the events bought in over $140m in visitor spending.
Dr Zhong believes the streamed shows will open up the pop sensation to new audiences.
“The audience expands dramatically, with millions of people who couldn’t attend shows due to geography, cost, or ticket availability now able to participate,” she said.
However, local businesses won’t be seeing the same spending boost, Professor Zhong warns.
“The key structural difference is that tour spending was geographically concentrated and time-limited to specific dates, whereas film and streaming spending is diffused globally and extends over months as the content remains available and fans consume it repeatedly.”
It isn’t all bad news for local businesses, says Professor Zhong.
“The key difference is that tour spending was urgent and concentrated, whereas film spending is discretionary and distributed over time. Local businesses can’t passively wait for benefits. They need to actively create Swiftie-friendly offerings,” she said.
Swift’s financial reach doesn’t end with the touring, with her reported $US1.6bn fortune from albums, streaming, and major commercial deals tied to her music and media catalogue.
The previously released Eras Tour concert film has already set records.
The movie released in October 2023 grossed more than $US250m worldwide, making it the highest-earning concert movie ever produced.
Swift has turned a global tour into a long-lasting business engine.
Her influence now stretches far beyond music and continues to stimulate local economies and global markets long after the last stadium has emptied.
But Dr Zhong warns there are limits to how far the business model can be pushed and the Swifties may move on.
“Cost-of-living pressure is real. Swift’s core demographic is bifurcating, some face genuine financial stress while others remain insulated,” she said.
“Could something replace this? Absolutely. The structural conditions exist: global social media, streaming infrastructure, fan community tools.
“The phenomenon will continue, but Swift’s specific dominance is time-limited. The question isn’t whether this ends, but how to maximise value during the plateau and prepare for what follows.”
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Originally published as Taylor Swift unleashes next phase of ‘Swiftonomics’ with new film and docuseries
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