Concerts
Page: 64
In light of fans — and Taylor Swift herself — taking issue with Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s highly publicized Verified Fan Presale failure, Jack Antonoff has a few choice words to share about the touring industry’s treatment of artists.
The Bleachers frontman and producer hit Twitter on Friday (Nov. 18) to blast music venues for taking away the revenue that newer artists have the potential to make from merchandise sales during concerts.
“While we are having the discussion can venues simply stop taxing merch of artists? This is literally the only way you make money when you start out touring,” he started. “The more we make it tenable for young and small artists to make a living on the road the more great music we will get. Touring is one of the most honest ways to make a living. Some of the hardest and most heartfelt work you can do. So why must [they] f— artist[s] so hard?”
The Grammy winning producer continued, “[Simple] solutions, stop taxing merch, stop lying to artists about costs of putting on shows, include artists in more areas of revenue. The stories I could tell from my years of touring are bananas. Young artists on tour are the last to see any money.”
Antonoff’s thread comes at what feels like a watershed moment for the music industry. Ticketmaster and Live Nation have come under fire from Antonoff’s frequent collaborator Taylor Swift, her fans and lawmakers after the disastrous sale of tickets for her 2023 The Eras tour.
The failure has led to the U.S. Department of Justice launching an investigation to see if the companies have abused its market shares in the music industry after 14 million fans attempted to access the presale, experienced major technical difficulties and failed to secure tickets, despite gaining entry into Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan Presale for the event. “It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them,” Swift said in a note to fans.
Another one of Antonoff’s collaborators, Lorde, spoke about the harsh realities of touring in a newsletter post to fans, stating, “for pretty much every artist selling less tickets than I am, touring has become a demented struggle to break even or face debt.” According to the “Solar Power” singer, an increase in ticket prices could cover the heightened cost of touring, but “no one wants to charge their harried and extremely-compassionate-and-flexible audience any more f—ing money.”
Antonoff, with the rest of Bleachers, will complete the final dates of the band’s How Dare You Want Tour on Dec. 3-4 at the Zona Festival in Phoenix. The band are confirmed for two festival dates in 2023; the High Water Fest in North Charleston, S.C., on April 15 and the Adjacent Music Fest in Atlantic City, N.J. on May 27.
See Antonoff’s tweets below.
while we are having the discussion can venues simply stop taxing merch of artists? this is literally the only way you make money when you start out touring— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) November 18, 2022
the more we make it tenable for young and small artists to make a living on the road the more great music we will get— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) November 18, 2022
touring is one of the most honest ways to make a living. some of the hardest and most heartfelt work you can do. so why must fuck artist so hard?— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) November 18, 2022
simpel solutions, stop taxing merch, stop lying to artists about costs of putting on shows, include artists in more areas of revenue. the stories i could tell from my years touring are bananas. young artists on tour are the last to see any money.— jackantonoff (@jackantonoff) November 18, 2022
It’s 4 in the afternoon at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, two-and-a-half hours before doors open for Harry Styles‘ Monday night show, one of the final 15 residency-style concerts the Grammy-winner is hosting at the iconic venue. But the atmosphere outside is hardly the calm before the storm. In fact, it’s a glittery, brightly colored, feather boa-filled party filled with hundreds of young fans, lined up through the parking lot and down the street to ensure a spot standing as close to the stage as possible.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“We got out here at 3 a.m.,” 26-year-old Jalyssa Brown tells Billboard, as she’s sitting on the pavement with her friend, Kaitlynn Beeler, 22, so close to the front of the line that they’ve seemingly guaranteed a great spot. “We didn’t sleep because it was so cold, but we wish we could have slept.” Ahead of her are dozens of fans who have been waiting even longer.
Beeler then explains that they waited in line with other fans from 3 a.m. to 10 a.m., and then after seven hours, they receive an “early general admission” wristband, which allows them to be one of the first to enter the venue. The fans are then encouraged to go home, rest and get ready, before returning at 3 p.m. to get back in line until doors open at 6:30 p.m. To pass the time, the groups keep it fun with card games, making TikToks or simply just talking to each other.
While there is inherently some risk of danger when young women are camping out overnight in a major city like Los Angeles or New York City, where there were similar scenes outside Styles’ shows at Madison Square Garden in August and September. But there’s strength in numbers when it comes to Styles fans, affectionately called Harries. “I fully slept on the street by myself, two feet away from a random car,” 19-year-old Julianna Malek, who was standing with a group of friends she just met, shares. “Harry is the only artist that I would feel safe camping by myself for. I knew this morning that I could come and make friends and be OK.”
“If we meet someone and they’re a die-hard Harrie, we know they’re going to be a good person,” one of Malek’s new pals, Darcy Callaway, 28, adds, before 24-year-old Olivia Nicholas agrees. “I would trust anyone here,” she says.
Julianna Malek, Cressie Rynne, Olivia Nicholas and Darcy Callaway.
Rania Aniftos
And, yes, they have a specially planned bathroom schedule. “I’m queen of pee,” Brown jokes. “You pee before you leave, and then again when you get here because there are Porta Potties. You get through the line and they let you pee again. Hopefully, by then, you’re fully drained but, if not, our number is lower so we’ll get inside then have five minutes to pee. But we haven’t been drinking water. It’s planned all day long.”
For the average music fan, waiting more than 15 hours outside in the cold just to see a concert might sound strange or even absurd. But talking to these fans for just a few minutes, it quickly becomes clear that all the time, effort and money spent is for more than their love of the 28-year-old star. There’s a sweet sense of community among the Harries, something that Styles himself often encourages throughout his shows and in songs like Fine Line‘s “Treat People With Kindness.”
“I think it speaks for itself when we can be like, ‘Oh we can name everyone in the line around us.’ Everyone is so open and kind and wanting to connect,” 24-year-old Cressie Rynne explains, before Malek chimes in, “Most people here have followed Harry since his 2011 One Direction days, so we have such a huge piece of our lives growing up with this man. It’s surprisingly a very connecting factor.”
“I mean, we just met her 10 minutes ago,” Rynne says, pointing at Malek, who begins to gush over the noticeable variety in races, ethnicities and sexual orientations among the fans in line. “His message is so positive and he provides such a safe space for so many different identities of people. That’s one of his biggest attractors,” she says.
And, of course, his looks don’t hurt. “Have you seen him?” Nicholas says with a laugh.
Harry Styles can’t seem to catch a break during his live shows. Continuing what seems to be an unfortunate fan tradition, Styles — while performing “Kiwi” from his self-titled debut LP at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Monday night (Nov. 14) — got an eyeful’s worth of Skittles thrown at his face, and as a result covered his eyes.
A disgruntled fan who caught the moment on camera took to Twitter and wrote, “whoever the f–k threw a solid object at his eye, u literally ruined kiwi bc he wouldn’t open his eye for the whole song.” Another worried fan, who shared video of the moment slowed down, wrote, “like are you joking?? look how hard he recoils hope your eye is okay @Harry_Styles.”
Thankfully, Styles appears to be okay — not only did he continue with the rest of his concert, Styles’ backing bandmate Pauli the PSM shared an update about his condition during an Instagram Live DJ set later in the evening. “H came through, confirming his eye is okay,” Pauli said, adding, “But do me a favor, don’t throw no more Skittles on stage.”
Styles appeared to also have a good sense of humor about his injury. Tuning into Pauli’s Live, he commented, “See you tomorrow AVEC eye patch.”
This is far from the first time the “Watermelon Sugar” singer has had objects thrown at him while performing. During an August show of Styles’ Madison Square Garden residency, a fan threw multiple chicken nuggets on stage, and in October, a fan threw an unidentified object that hit him in the groin area.
See the tweets regarding Styles’ Skittles-induced eye injury below.
whoever the fuck threw a solid object at his eye, u literally ruined kiwi bc he wouldn’t open his eye for the whole song pic.twitter.com/CRBWzsYqcc— mandi🏠HARRY TALKED TO ME?? (@ibringthep0p) November 15, 2022
Penske Media Corporation’s new music, art and food festival LA3C is just weeks away, aiming to celebrate the rich culture and diverse communities in the metropolis over a star-studded two-day event.
“This will be the first festival of its kind to fortify a city that combines talent, diversity and culture like no other while engaging with organizations solving some of the city’s pressing challenges,” said LA3C Chief Executive Juan Mora of the upcoming festival in an official statement. “[PMC CEO] Jay [Penske]’s vision and the commitment to positively impact the city of Los Angeles is inspiring. I plan to leverage the expertise of Penske Media’s iconic brands to create an experience for all visitors, and we invite creatives, musicians, and artists to join in our mission.”
Besides performances from Maluma, Megan Thee Stallion, Snoop Dogg, SEVENTEEN and more, LA3C will support the next generations of creative talent in Los Angeles through partnerships with nonprofit arts organizations Heart of Los Angeles (HOLA) and Film Independent.
See below for everything you need to know about the festival celebrating the city of Los Angeles.
Penske Media Corporation is the parent company of Billboard.
The last time BLACKPINK performed at Newark’s Prudential Center was under a very special set of circumstances — the K-pop group took the stage at the VMAs in August to perform their sizzling Born Pink hit “Pink Venom,” which also served as the group’s live debut of the track and their first time performing at an American awards show. Though the girl group — which consists of members Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé — dominated at the show, they admitted during their Nov. 14 Born Pink tour stop at Prudential they were nervous to be back. Based on their performance, it was hard to believe.
The moment the group’s iconic “BLACKPINK in your area” tag and establishing horns blared through speakers, Blinks knew exactly which track the quartet was opening with and buzzed with energy and excitement. The set kicked off with BLACKPINK’s personal statement, “How You Like That,” which saw the group expertly hit the song’s memorable choreography with the help from female backup dancers. The opening track served as BLACKPINK’s formal arrival, and concluded with larger than life stage fireworks — in pink, of course — and streamers as if to say “we’re here.”
The hits didn’t stop there — the first act of the concert catered to fans of their high-energy songs, from The Album‘s fan favorites “Pretty Savage” and “Lovesick Girls” to equally pumped up performances of “Don’t Know What To Do” from the Kill This Love EP and the group’s sizzling-yet-sparsely produced debut single “Whistle.” BLACKPINK continued to dabble in pyrotechnics during the show’s second and third acts, with more fireworks, and at times, actual fire onstage by the time “Kill This Love” and “Playing With Fire” rolled around in the setlist. Those were later followed by tracks “Pink Venom”, “Shut Down,” “DDU-DU DDU-DU” and “Typa Girl.”
Fans of BLACKPINK who have seen the group perform either in person or in video know that the girls divide their concert in half, with the second part featuring individual performances from each member of the group, and last night’s performance at the Prudential Center was no exception.
Jisoo was first up to the plate and performed a solo cover of Camila Cabello’s 2019 track “Liar,” a wonderful compliment to her unique vocal tone, while strutting down the runway stage and performing sultry dance moves with the help of the group’s background dancers. Jennie, who often performed her solo debut track “Solo” in previous BLACKPINK concerts, did not go for the obvious choice this time — instead she gave fans a taste of a potential new solo track (fans are calling “You & Me,” though it has no official title yet), which saw her perform equal parts intricate and elegant dance moves with a male dancer, and highlighted her magnetic energy. Rosé, meanwhile, had more than enough solo material to work with but went with Born Pink solo cut “Hard to Love” and R single “On the Ground.” Lisa provided a masterclass in dancing when it came time to perform her solo hits “Lalisa” and “Money,” which saw Blinks in the audience performing the tracks’ moves, sometimes as well as her backup dancers on stage.
One of the sweetest highlights of the show was during the encore. After a near-10-minute wait — which saw fans across the area leading “when I say black, you say pink” and “boombayah” chants to rile up the crowd — the girls came back looking cozy in sweatshirts, hoodies and tees from their merch line, and stripped back their larger-than-life stage personas to goof around and make un-choreographed dances and cute faces with each other while singing “Yeah Yeah Yeah.” Before ending the show, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé took a picture with the entire stadium, prompting the Blinks in attendance to wave their lightsticks and throw up K-pop finger hearts for the camera.
BLACKPINK’s Born Pink tour shows that despite being a top performing global act, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé maintain the loving charm that has cemented them such a passionate fanbase. But don’t be fooled by their sweetness — their talent and star power can “shut down” almost any arena the second they decide to turn it on.
In the time since Paramore‘s last performance in New York — which took place in 2018 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center as part of the band’s After Laughter tour — there was a major shift. The group has always had a fiercely dedicated group of fans across different races, genders and sexualities, but when the pandemic saw the rebirth of pop punk and alternative music, seen in the rise of stars like Olivia Rodrigo and GAYLE, fans of the genre went back to the basics and flocked back to Paramore. So when the group announced an intimate gig at the historic Beacon Theatre on Sunday, the energy was fierce, fun and as, expected, energetic.
The gig kicked off with Paramore’s newest single, “This Is Why,” which showcased the agility of lead singer Hayley Williams’ vocals as she hit the snappy track’s high notes and funky low notes with ease, all while expertly performing her signature choreography consisting of intricate footwork, larger-than-life arm movements and head bangs (though the latter was in a shorter supply after a warning from Williams’ personal chiropractor, she told the audience during a speaking break).
The first half of the set saw Paramore catering to OG fans with a series of songs from the band’s first three albums, including Brand New Eyes single “Brick by Boring Brick,” Riot! classic “That’s What You Get,” All We Know Is Falling deep cut and fan favorite “Here We Go Again,” plus intense live versions of “Decode” and “I Caught Myself” for all the Twi-Hards in attendance — all of which the audience members sang verbatim.
If the first half of the set was about appeasing old-school fans, the second half of the set — which commenced after a tear-jerking performance of Brand New Eyes‘ acoustic slow jam “Misguided Ghosts” — was about fans fully committing to dancing as wildly as possible, according to Williams. The latter half of the concert was anchored by hits from After Laughter and the band’s self-titled LP, including the sing-along-inducing “Ain’t It Fun” and “Still Into You,” as well as “Rose-Colored Boy” (with a portion of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”) and “Hard Times” (which included a snippet of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass”), before rolling into the band’s most iconic song to date.
Williams prefaced their signature hit “Misery Business” with a few words to the audience, taking the time before launching into Riot!‘s lead single with a disclaimer.
“The grace that you’ve shown us as we’ve grown up and learned our lessons in front of the world — thank you for that. We’re going to play that TikTok hit not without this disclaimer: Thank you for growing up with us, learning the tough lessons and thank you for being good people. We promise to keep trying to be good people too and to keep learning these lessons.
“This song is about misogyny,” Williams simply said, playing the track that she’s had a complicated lyrical relationship with, even vowing to not perform it live again in previous years.
With nearly 20 years of being in a band, and five of those past years on a break, Paramore’s intimate performance at the Beacon proves what has always been true of the band: God, it just feels so good…to see them live once again.
Elton John is saying goodbye, but not without a little help from his friends. As announced Monday (Nov. 14) in a new teaser trailer, the 75-year-old legend will bring Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile onstage with him for “Elton John: Farewell From Dodger Stadium,” his final North American performance ever.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The three-hour concert will be live-streamed at 11 p.m. EST Nov. 20 on Disney+, meaning the 50,000 fans at Dodger Stadium will make up just a fraction of the fans who get to watch Sir Elton as he plays his decades-worth of hit songs one last time in North America. And it’s only right that Lipa and Dee are joining him during the show, as the two have served as featured artists on a couple of the icon’s biggest smashes — nearly 50 years apart.
Earlier this year, Elton teamed up with the “Levitating” singer for a mashup of his older hits “Rocket Man,” “Sacrifice” and “Kiss the Bride” remixed by Pnau, which became his first UK No. 1 in 16 years. Five decades before that, Dee was the co-vocalist on his blockbuster duet “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1976.
Carlile has also collaborated with the “Your Song” singer, releasing “Simple Things” with John last year as part of his Billboard 200 Top 10 album The Lockdown Sessions. The two are longtime friends, and Carlile even hosted hosted the 30th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party in March.
Before the farewell concert officially begins, a “Countdown to Elton Live” event will take place on the livestream. According to a release, some of the Grammy winner’s famous friends from around the globe will be featured, along with interviews with Elton John and his husband, filmmaker David Furnish.
After the concert, an hour-long iHeartRadio TV special, “Elton John’s Thank you to America: The Final Song,” will broadcast nationwide on Monday, November 21 at 1 a.m. EST. It’ll look back on legendary moments from Elton’s career and include a live simulcast of his final song and closing remarks from the Dodger Stadium show.
Watch the new trailer for Elton John’s farewell concert featuring Dua Lipa, Kiki Dee and Brandi Carlile above.
Joe Walsh and a bunch of his friends offered plenty of musical service to those who have given service to the country on Sunday night (Nov. 13) in Columbus, Ohio.
Walsh’s sixth VetsAid benefit concert, held at Nationwide Arena, was a homecoming of sorts that brought an all-Ohio bill — the James Gang and Nine Inch Nails from Cleveland, Akron’s Black Keys, the Breeders from Dayton and Dave Grohl from Warren — together for a nearly six-hour show that raised money for grass-roots military veterans organizations either based in Ohio or that ear-marked the funds they received for programs in the state. It’s a cause close to Walsh’s heart; his father, a First Lieutenant in the Army Air Force, was killed in a crash while stationed on Okinawa when Walsh was just 20 months old.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“When I found myself in a position where I could in some way give back to our nation’s veterans how could I not?” Walsh — who spent some of his youth in Columbus — said during a pre-show press conference. “Seeing how rock ‘n’ roll is something I do best, it’s also the least I could do for those who served and continue to serve our country. So we started VetsAid bringing together the two things that saved my life over and over again – the friends I’ve made and the music we’ve played together.”
Walsh — who had a street named after him near the arena earlier in the week — noted that “The buzz backstage is…a fellowship of musicians. We’re gonna get to know each other and compare notes — and make a big list of people we don’t like.”
Walsh’s wife Marjorie, one of VetsAid’s co founders, choked up as she related that “Dave Grohl just said to me here, ‘Thank you for bringing me home…All the guys have said to that to me. It’s big stuff.” Grohl, in fact, visited his childhood home in Warren earlier Sunday, while Walsh was planning a visit to his on Monday. He also reveled in spending time with one of his best childhood friends, Terry Hatzo, a Vietnam veteran who came home to become a first responder.
Beyond their own highlights, the musicians provided plenty of delights for fans at the concert during their respective 45-minute sets – though planned host Drew Carey was absent due to COVID-19. The best moments of this year’s VetsAid included:
Lots Of Dave For The DollarRepaying Walsh and the James Gang for their participation in the two Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in September, Grohl lived up to his “special guest” status with several appearances on stage Sunday. He closed the Breeders’ set by guesting on guitar and backing vocals for a rendition of the Pixies’ “Gigantic,” then did the same for Walsh and James Gang by playing drums on “Funk #49.” The Foo Fighters frontman also hopped on with Walsh and his solo band, playing guitar on “Life’s Been Good” and drums on “Rocky Mountain Way.”
The Greatest Band In All The LandThe lauded Ohio State Marching Band kicked things off with its anthem, the McCoys’ “Hang on Sloopy” — with a drum major in full baton-twirling motion — followed by “The Star Spangled Banner.”
The Breeders Honor OhioAmidst its own favorites such as “Divine Hammer,” “Do You Love Me Now?” and “Cannonball,” thequartet offered a couple of welcome nods to its home state — covering “Shocker in Gloomtown” by fellow Daytonites Guided By Voices and, later in the set, “Drivin’ on 9,” an Ed’s Redeeming Qualities song co-written by Dom Leone of Youngstown, Ohio and covered by the Breeders on 1993’s Last Splash.
The James Gang Rides, And Reigns SupremeThe VetsAid appearance was billed as “One Last Ride” for Walsh and compatriots Jimmy Fox and Dale Peters. Walsh backed off that during a recent interview with Billboard, and on Sunday the trio — aided by a keyboardist and three backing vocalists — didn’t sound like it was anywhere near finished as it tore through covers (Howard Tate’s “Stop,” Albert King’s “You’re Gonna Need Me”), songs that have been on the bench for 15 years or longer (“Tend My Garden,” “Asshtonpark,” “Midnight Man” and “Collage”), an epic “Walk Away” and the crowd-pleasing medley of “The Bomber,” “Closet Queen,” “Bolero” and “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” – all before Grohl’s guest shot.
The Black Keys Go BackDan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have enough material to fill an entire VetsAid themselves and made sure to include plenty of hits — “Fever,” “Gold on the Ceiling,” “Lonely Boy” and a beautifully rendered “Little Black Submarines” among them. But they showed some home state love as well, with Auerbach preceding “Your Touch” by remembering that “this is a song we cut back in the day in a basement down in Akron, Ohio.”
Nine Inch Nails ItTrent Reznor and company brought the biggest production of the night — including smoke, strobes and banks of light that flanked the band on stage — as it ferociously attacked the likes of “Wish,” “March of the Pigs,” “Piggy,” “The Perfect Drug,” “The Hand That Feeds” and others before finishing with an affecting rendition of “Hurt.” Reznor probably surprised some in the crowd by noting that “you don’t understand what a big deal Joe Walsh reaching out to me was,” identifying Walsh as the first concert he ever attended. Walsh had the perfect response during his set; “Well, that was the first Nine Inch Nails concert I’ve ever been to…I liked it. It kinda reminded me of being in the Northridge earthquake in California…”
That’s All, Folks…During “Rocky Mountain Way,” Walsh was joined by other guests besides Grohl — the Breeders, who provided backing vocals, and Roy Orbison III, a six-year-old towhead who’s also Walsh’s godson and played along with him during the song’s famous talk-box and solo section, passing the music, and the mission, on to yet another generation.
VetsAid will be streaming via veeps.com through Tuesday, Nov. 15. Donations can be made andmerchandise purchased via vetsaid.org.
Drake announced Monday (Nov. 7) that he’s pushing back his planned show at The Apollo to mourn the death of Takeoff.
“The Apollo show has been moved to allow us to pay respect to our dear friend this weekend,” the superstar wrote on his Instagram Stories beneath an updated poster announcing the new dates of Dec. 6 and 7. “We have added a second date for the fans.”
Sponsored by SiriusXM, the concert at the historic Harlem venue was originally meant to take place this Friday as a one-night-only event.
Last week, Drake memorialized the late Migos rapper — who was gunned down at a Houston bowling alley in the early morning hours of Nov. 1 — during the album release party for Her Loss, his new collaborative LP with 21 Savage.
“I’d just like to send our deepest condolences from the family to the entire QC, to our brother Quavo, to our brother Offset, to the friends and loved ones of the legendary, unprecedented Takeoff — a guy that I knew for a long, long time,” he said, adding, “I always talk about the fact that this was one family. My friends in the music industry are not friends, they’re family. So, our deepest condolences — tragic loss for all of us and, you know, a dark cloud over this business that we love so much.”
However, Drake’s new studio set also arrived with its own share of drama, with the rapper making digs at both Megan Thee Stallion and Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian in his lyrics.
Check out Drake’s new dates at The Apollo here.
Taylor Swift, in case you haven’t heard, is back. Her 10th studio album, Midnights, was released on Oct. 21 and moved 1.578 million album equivalents in its first week of release in the U.S. according to Luminate, the most since Adele’s 25 seven years ago. The album’s standard edition blanketed the Billboard Hot 100 in unprecedented fashion, occupying the chart’s entire top 10 positions. And now, she has officially announced the Eras Tour, playing stadiums in the U.S. throughout 2023.
Swift is no stranger to the stadium stage. Her last tour, 2018’s Reputation Stadium Tour, played 53 shows, earning $345.7 million and sold 2.9 million tickets, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
That was enough to make it the highest-grossing and most-attended tour of Swift’s career. She had leveled up from 2015’s The 1989 World Tour, which itself had bested The Red Tour (2013-14). From theaters to arenas to stadiums, and from smaller Midwest markets to global reach, each of Swift’s official five treks have out-grossed and out-sold the one before.
The Reputation Stadium Tour reached career-high status by staying true to its name, sticking to stadiums in all four continents that it played. Swift averaged more than 50,000 paid tickets in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, doubling her previous high in Asia and quadrupling the nightly attendance from her previous run in Europe.
To do so, the stadium-branded tour played it smart. She played 53 shows worldwide, consolidated from the 80-plus dates on The 1989 World Tour and The Red Tour, forcing high(er) demand on an exclusive routing. In Europe, she stuck to three markets in the U.K., and in Asia only played two shows in Tokyo.
Still, Swift played 38 shows in the U.S., breaking her own record for the highest-grossing stateside tour of all time (the record has since been broken by Elton John). With an even more sparse calendar in 2023 so far, Swift will challenge herself to, once again, outdo herself.
The Eras Tour announced 27 stadium shows in the U.S. (Swift assured fans that international shows would be announced at a later date), beginning March 18 in Glendale, Arizona, and wrapping with an on Aug. 4-5 double-header in Inglewood, California. If Swift were to replicate Reputation’s $7 million nightly domestic average, the tour would earn $189.1 million and sell 1.47 million tickets.
But those figures are based on Reputation’s $128.67 average ticket price. In the time since that tour closed, platinum ticketing, dynamic pricing and inflation have changed the potential for sky-high ticket prices, especially for a stadium A-lister like Swift.
And while the initial routing for Eras is light, the time between its March kickoff and August finale is wide open. Swift is only scheduled to play one or two shows a week, leaving ample room for additional markets and, just as likely, additional shows in the cities she’s already announced. Depending on demand in the two and a half weeks between registration for Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program and the tour’s general on-sale, Swift’s schedule could bulk up.
And why wouldn’t it? In the time since the Reputation Stadium Tour wrapped in 2018, she has topped the Billboard 200 with six albums and crowned the Hot 100 four times. She was nominated for the Grammy for album of the year three years in a row, winning in 2021 for Folklore. Between her latest record-breaking success with Midnights and the engagement surrounding the Taylor’s Version re-recordings of her older albums, Swift is setting the stage for the cumulative effect of her many eras on their titular tour.