It has been reported that Taylor Swift has given her crew members on her ‘Eras’ tour about $197million (£152million) in bonuses.
The colossal tour ended last night (December 8) at Vancouver, British Columbia’s BC Place Stadium, after 149 shows that took place across 21 months. Earlier today (December 9), it had been revealed that in total, the worldwide trek sold $2,077,618,725 (£1.6billion) worth of tickets, per the New York Times.
Now, according to People, the ‘Bejeweled’ singer has allegedly given out roughly $197 million in total bonuses to those who worked on the tour, including the likes of truck drivers, caterers, instrument techs, merch team, lighting, sound, production staff and assistants, carpenters, dancers, band members, security personnel, choreographers, pyrotechnics, riggers, hair stylists, make-up artist, wardrobe stylists, physical therapists, and members of her video team.
This is not the first time during her ‘Eras’ tour that Swift has spread the wealth of her successful shows. Earlier this summer, it was revealed that she had given out over $55million (£43million) in bonuses to the crew members working on the tour.
Mike Scherkenbach, who runs the concert transportation company Shomotion, was one of many production crew members to receive bonuses of $100,000 (£77,000) each and shared how the bonus was life-changing for some of the individuals.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Scherkenbach shared: “She’s giving a sum of money that is life-changing for these people,” Scherkenbach said. “A lot of these drivers are not homeowners, and a lump sum like this gives you the ability to put a down payment on a home. That’s what makes me really happy. That generosity is a game changer for these people.”
Earlier this week, it was revealed that a book about the ‘Eras’ tour sold more than 800,000 copies in its first weekend of release.
Meanwhile, Swift recently shared her reaction to ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ achieving the most streamed album of 2024 on Apple Music earlier this week (December 3).
The streaming platform shared its year-end charts for 2024, which reveal the biggest songs of the year by Apple Music streams, Shazam tags, radio spins, read lyrics and more.
The results revealed that the expanded edition of Swift’s eleventh studio album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’ – which NME gave three stars – was the most streamed album this year on the platform. Additionally, Swift was also awarded the most streamed artist.
In July, it was revealed that ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ was the biggest album of the year so far in the US, earning 4.66 million equivalent album units in the first half of this year. It also became the first album by a woman to spend its first 12 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.
Album cut ‘But Daddy I Love Him’ was also listed as one of NME‘s 50 best songs of 2024. Puah Ziwei wrote: “The world’s biggest pop star returns to country storytelling for a grown-up ‘Love Story’ that hilariously rebuffs hand-wringing from fans and press alike over her personal life choices.”
In November, the vinyl edition of ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology’ was made available to purchase for international fans. Swift revealed its release in a social media post reflecting on the “incredible” shows of her ‘Eras’ tour.
“The emotions have gotten pretty heightened for me and the rest of the team because it’s gotten extremely real for us: Our next city will be the last one of The Eras Tour, and the closing of the most extraordinary chapter of my life so far,” she said of its last three dates in Vancouver that begin this Friday (December 6).
NME caught the tour’s first UK show in Edinburgh back in June. In a five-star review, Hannah Mylrea wrote: “Despite being an arena show, in a huge, cavernous venue, Swift and her fans have managed to cultivate a community. Strangers swap friendship bracelets, laugh and cry together, and embrace the tour’s in-jokes and lore (for example shouting “one, two, three, let’s go bitch” during ‘Delicate’).
“It’s the power of Swift, an artist who’s inspired not only the renaming of a Scottish Loch, but also countless fans to come out and embrace being a part of the Eras family. With The Eras Tour, then, Swift’s managed to craft a marvel of a show that comes with a beating heart.”