No Recession? Thank Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Barbie… But What Happens After?

The trio could be part of the reason why the US hasn’t hit a recession yet — but fortunes may be coming to an end as Taylor Swift departs the US and Beyoncé’s tour wraps up.

Pop culture icons are giving a major boost to the economy: In North America, QuestionPro estimated that Taylor Swift’s concert could reach $4.6B in ticket, travel and merch sales — near that of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 — while Beyoncé’s tour could make $4.5B. And Barbie continues to break records, already bringing in $1.2B in global box office sales.

• Themed drinks and food are helping fill up restaurants and bars with fans — who have also splurged on nail and hair appointments, bought friendship bracelets and spent hundreds on outfits to replicate Swift’s look.
• Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum had set up a last-minute Taylor Swift pop-up — selling over 114K tickets for its best month in history.

Hotel and flight bookings have soared. For the July 4th weekend when Swift performed, Airbnb reported Cincinnati as the top trending destination — beating popular spots in Greece and Italy. Chicago and Minneapolis also saw record-high reservations during the ‘Eras Tour’ (WSJ).

Australian airline Qantas added an extra 60 flights to accommodate Swift’s Australian concert, and Expedia said the announcement of Taylor’s 2024 Toronto tour led to an 8,000% spike in hotel searches.

Swift departs the US for international economies

While Columbia Business School’s Economist Brett House thinks “Taylor Swift is great for the soft landing” — you wouldn’t have that spending without a strong job market and built-up savings.

Taylor Swift is departing North America as her tour moves internationally, starting in South America, then in Europe and Asia — and the US economy could be in for a rude awakening. Student loan payments restart soon, pandemic savings are dwindling, and economists think this could be the final wave of “revenge spending” (NYT).