By Sienna Lamond, ’26

Staff Writer

The entertainment industry certainly serves its role in keeping the United States economically sound. But lately there have been two factors in particular that seem to be driving the numbers: Taylor Swift and Barbie. Now, how are these two empowering feminists promoting positive economic growth? 

Taylor Swift, beloved across the world, has surpassed a remarkable number of records with her latest tour, the Eras Tour. The tour features songs from each of her 10 studio albums (excluding her debut album, self-titled Taylor Swift), with extravagant costumes to accompany each set. The tour would have been successful even if every high school and college student in America was not obsessed with Swift’s music, but fortunately for her – and the U.S. economy – they are. The tour has already grossed over $2 billion dollars, which is over a billion more that the last record holder, Elton John’s Farewell tour. While that tour spanned five years from September 2018 to July 2023, Swift has managed to double that revenue in a matter of months. 

One of the reasons why Swift is so popular in American high schools is because she touches so many different genres and styles in her 10 albums and three re-releases. Since her first country album was released in 2006, she has managed to grow her empire by switching to more mainstream pop, and dabbling in indie, rock, and folk music. One thing that Swift is expert at as well is getting people’s attention. She creates music that directly responds to rumors, calls out institutions that mock her, and defends her reputation when she’s under scrutiny while maintaining a sense of grace and dignity. Through this forward mentality, she has earned the devotion of girls and women of all ages. These die-hard Swifties will pay as much as $800 for a nosebleed ticket, not to mention the price they are willing to pay for merchandise, hotels, restaurants, gas, and more. The average price each concert attendee had to pay for a ticket, based on data from Business Insider, was $1300. According to The National News, “Her six-night residency is projected to deliver a $320 million boost to Los Angeles County and $160 million in local earnings.” 

It is a dangerous game being so popular, though. If Swift were to cancel just one show in any given city, fans would cancel hotels and restaurants, shops would lose walk-in customers, and no one would spend money on the merchandise sold on site. A sick day would essentially destroy the initially generated revenue overnight. As Swift prepares for the international leg of her Eras Tour, fans who reside in the U.S. are scrambling to get their hands on tickets for shows as far as Japan, Brazil and The Netherlands. It’s not a stretch to say that the future of the world’s economic developments lies with Swift and her future enterprises.

Another iconic blonde that has managed to generate an absurd amount of revenue is Barbie. The new movie based on the long-popular doll has generated just under $1.4 billion in box office worldwide, according to Dexerto. The tear-jerking story focuses on Margot Robbie as Barbie, living in a female-run utopia; when she visits the “real world,” the story spirals, depicting the problems of patriarchy and sexism in a horribly realistic light. Not only is the box office revenue insane, but the attention across social media platforms has driven people to purchase Barbie merchandise from both the official organization as well as small businesses through Etsy, Tiktok, Redbubble, and others. Believe it or not, these hyper-supportive fans will spend $35 on a t-shirt and $10 on a keychain to get their hands on unique Barbie merchandise, as shown from websites like Etsy and Redbubble.

Furthermore, women across the globe are using the movie to push for gender equality. Some men have been offended by the way in which they are depicted in the movie, but few realize that it isn’t inaccurate to the way they are perceived in reality. The movie has stirred gender equality movements in all sorts of jobs across the globe, but the social impact does not stop there. Since it could only be seen in theaters for its first two months – just recently becoming available to stream for $25 a rental –  Barbie has reinvigorated the theater business after a nearly two-year slide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Barbie is a refreshing new film in the midst of remakes, prequels, sequels, and overall bad original pictures due to a lack of general creativity that has befallen the film-making industry, which is a story for another time. (see What’s the Deal with Barbenheimer? for more on the Barbie movie)

Overall, the U.S. economy can thank Taylor Swift for a near $5 billion increase this past year, according to The National News, and that number is only expected to grow in the coming months. Add to that the revenue generated from the Barbie movie, and most sources agree that we’ll likely never see another such pop culture and economic phenomenon in our lifetimes. The enthusiasm surrounding both the tour and the movie is different than ever seen before and will continue to bolster the national economy in unprecedented ways in the months to come.

Featured image: https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-eras-tour-outfits-behind-the-scenes-videos-photos-2023-3