How Taylor Swift is getting the last laugh on Ticketmaster with Eras Tour concert film
Taylor Swift played the studios and got a sweet deal for herself, Swifties, and cinemas
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Taylor Swift: What can’t she do? She’s a notorious record breaker, a critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning singer-songwriter, an accomplished music video director, a political organizer, and now a savior of cinemas. Move over, Martin Scorsese, because Killers Of The Flower Moon has some serious competition in the Eras Tour concert film, which has surpassed $100 million in ticket presales. Swift laid the groundwork to make the concert film a success—and then just like clockwork, the dominoes cascaded in a line. Call her a “Mastermind.”
First, it was how she handled the studios, a number of whom she met with to consider partnering on the concert film release, per a new Variety report. (The streamers apparently bowed out knowing that Swift was seeking a theatrical release.) Studio executives apparently spent the summer pitching the pop star on their marketing and rollout strategy for the film, only for her to ghost them all and make an unprecedented deal with AMC instead. One studio exec grumbled to Variety that she “got a lot of free advice,” but a Swift source said, “This sounds like sour grapes. Everyone had the opportunity to bid on this, but ultimately Taylor decided to bet on herself.”
Bet on herself she did, sealing a deal with AMC that would give her camp 57% of ticket sales and the opportunity to shop the film to streamers after its theatrical run for another chunk of change. She managed to secure that lucrative presale without much marketing at all beyond social media, Variety notes. And let’s not forget that she basically has the NFL doing her marketing for her—the league reportedly pressed networks into playing the Eras Tour trailer for free.
It’s mastermind behavior alright, and all in service of the Swifties. According to the report, Swift was dead set on a theatrical release that would be a communal event for fans after Ticketmaster made them feel “like they went through several bear attacks” to get tickets, and for those who weren’t able to get tickets to the live show at all. The film is specifically only playing on the weekends, specifically to maximize the chances that fans will get to see it in a full house and share the experience with each other.
So there’s something for Swift, something for the Swifties, and something for cinemas everywhere. The fall box office—which could have flagged after schedules were rearranged during the strikes—will see a healthy boost from the Eras Tour movie, which is likely to become not only the biggest concert film ever but one of the top ten movies of the year. If any other industries need saving, they might consider getting Taylor Swift on the case. She’s a surefire path to success.
32 Comments
Swift getting the last laugh (and word) appear to be perfectly on brand for this entertainer.
I mean Swift is clearly business savvy herself and (more importantly at her level) smart enough to know she’s not smart enough to manage everything and surround herself with good advisers/a strong team. I mean she summed it all up when the NFT/coin exchange crap went down and wrapped up a bunch of celebs in lawsuits. Swift basically said yeah she got hit up to promote that shit and had her team (accountants/lawyers/whatever) look into it and simply listened to them when they said stay the fuck away.
i wonder if she did get into it if she would have had the only successful endeavour.
Doubtful, given how absurd the entire concept was – it would just have made her look commonplace foolish like a lot of other people.Great advice for anyone is that if you don’t get it, stay away from it.
When you are as big as Taylor Swift, you don’t need people to market you or distribute your work. You just say “I want to do this…” and everybody lines up to do it for you on your terms because they know that even a tiny piece of it is going to be a fortune for them. There isn’t any need for middlemen who “know how the system works” because the system will mold itself to accommodate you.That’s great for her, but there are maybe a half dozen people on earth at any given time who can do that.
To be fair, though, it sounds like she gave the theaters a really good deal. She could have demanded a lot more from them up-front. Studios regularly take up to 90% of the first week gross.
I also like the “she ‘got a lot of free advice’” gripe. Yeah bud, it’s called pitching the business. You put your best ideas and advice out there and try to win the prospect over. They aren’t obligated to forget what you said if you’re not selected. I work in a business where 1/3 is a good outcome, and we put a LOT of original content into our pitch presentations. Which means often we’re leaving a playbook in the hands of the prospect that they can then share with whoever they select.
It’s also funny because I’m sure the studios similarly take advantage of people who desperately want to break into show business, whether it’s swiping ideas or giving them a crappy deal. Swift didn’t get the advice for free, she paid them in exposure! :p
As I was reading this I just was thinking how crazy it is that the richer you are, the more shit you get for free. The poorer you are, the more you have to pay for shit.
I agree that’s generally unfair, but I sort of get it. Just as an example, I have enough money with my bank that I can use any ATM in the world for no fee. If the ATM is owned by another bank that imposes a fee, my bank reimburses my account.Considering how little I use cash this doesn’t really save me a lot of money and I could absolutely afford to pay those fees, but my bank makes much more money off of me just managing my investments so they give me this perk. They don’t make that much off somebody who just has a checking and saving account so they can’t give as many services away for free and still serve that (much larger) population. I’m still paying a lot more overall than the person paying ATM fees.I guess the only way around this is to nationalize the banks, but that isn’t going to happen anywhere in the US unless you move to a Kim Stanley Robinson novel.
No I get why it is. It’s just, you know, shitty. Just evidence of the strange and backwards priorities of our system. There’s no one answer, but I can’t help but make the observation.
“Kim Stanley Robinson novel.”Thanks for reminding me I’m 20 years overdue to reread the Three Californias Trilogy and also the Mars Trilogy.
“there are maybe a half dozen people on earth at any given time who can do that.”And five of them would use that power to have an elephant as a pet.Somehow Taylor Swift has that power and hasn’t turned into an asshole. Or at least can have her victims blackbagged efficiently.
I am not really into pop music since my youth, but lots of other pop artists that have gone by me within the pat few decades have memorable/catchy tunes. I wouldn’t be able to hum 2 bars of a taylor swift song if you offered me a million dollars.
I really like Taylor Swift (and those bonuses she gave to her road crew were legitimately a wonderful gesture), but she didn’t say a word against Ticketmaster when her fans were trying to fight them. Meanwhile Robert Smith squared up and got Ticketmaster to partially refund fees to Cure fans. If an elderly goth can do that I can only imagine what a cultural force like Swift could have done if she were more vocal.
Yeah, but Robert Smith is awesome.
the thing she is doing “for her fans” is… making it easier for them to give her their money? okay sure!
I’m sure she really needed free advice from aging studio execs
I mean, I can understand that she’s very popular, but what is it, exactly – that makes her such a ridiculously, powerfully, omnipresent force? Is her music *that* much better than everyone else? It’s not my cup of tea, so I can’t really say that I’m especially impressed or unimpressed with the actual musical product, but it doesn’t seem to warrant the extent of the fandom (and the power that provides). What about it speaks so clearly and powerfully to all those people?
No, it’s not. There’s hundreds of other artists making substantially better music but because they don’t have (1) a cult behind them, (2) a massive PR machine built from day one thanks to wealthy parents, and (3) endless free press thanks to sites like AV club reporting if she farts weird.
I remember when she first became popular 15 years ago and I’m baffled/fascinated by her ability to grow in popularity and influence during a timeline where most popstars start to fade in popularity. She is somehow able to keep tapping into new younger fans (my niece is obsessed with her and wasn’t even alive when Taylor’s debut album came out) while also maintaining fans that have been listening to her for years. I think the “eras” aspect might play a role, with each album she is able to change her sound enough to stay relevant but still sound like the Taylor Swift someone has listened to for over a decade. Even if it’s not my go to music I have to admit she is a good pop song writer because she is able to keep up with the changing sounds and trends in pop music.
she’s got an x factor that connects deeply with a large group of freaks, just like everyone else who ever got mega famous.
I don’t listen to all of her stuff, but my understanding is that it’s pretty open and vulnerable and relatable, plus she’s friendly, so people feel like she’s their best friend and like they’re involved in her life. It’s not about the music. It’s about the music+the person.
She started writing her own material as a teenager, very much from a teen’s perspective, and it really resonates with young listeners. Songs like You Belong with Me and Love Story are so earnest it’s painful. She’s continued that pattern into her 30s so there are a lot of women for whom Swift is a bit of a soundtrack for their lives. Meanwhile girls can pick up her early albums today and start the same journey. So women and girls feel like she’s their friend. Plus as a parent myself, it’s refreshing to see a young star age gracefully into adulthood without feeling the need to show her ass through some choreographed “rebellious” period. That’s why you see so many parents willing to shell out huge bucks to take their kids to her shows.
I think it’s her aura of success, actual charisma and pure, unadulterated talent (she sings, writes and plays her own damn instruments!)
She’s the All-American dream come true, so everyone who loves her vicariously experiences her success and builds upon it.
she understood her audience, since she was her audience. most artists tend to turn their noses up at teenage girls while happily pocketing their money. but those 14-year-old girls that everybody hates make or break pop music.i don’t understand her music at all, but i respect the fact that she took her audience seriously.
I have become convinced that Taylor is, in fact, triplets. There is no way one person can do all she has done and continues to do. Don’t care too much for her music, but my hat is off to her and BTW, thanks for saving the country from depression this past Summer with your tour and now saving AMC theaters from possible going bankrupt.
Taylor Swift: What can’t she do?Make good music.
I could go the rest of my goddamn life without hearing her name again and it would be too soon.Boring ass, snooze inducing, middle-of-the-road, nothingness.
Maybe use your cult to affect cultural change instead of sicking them on people who dare to criticize you? No. That’s too easy. There’s more money to be made!
“So there’s something for Swift, something for the Swifties, and something for cinemas everywhere”
And she fucks over the studios, specifically their distribution arms. I’ve never intentionally listened to a Taylor Swift song, but I might be becoming a fan.
something something Cats movie