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She’s everywhere and we all know her name: Taylor Swift is one of the biggest names on the planet and a HUGE global celebrity. So much so that there’s a new term – Swiftonomics – that describes the phenomenon for her impact on local economies (and beyond) wherever she goes on tour. Let’s dive in to learn more about this fascinating financial bubble – and see how you could make money from being near a town on the Swift tour.
Make Swift Money: Rent Your Driveway
Make Swift Money: Make Friendship Bracelets
Make Swift Money: Grab a Promotional Job
Swiftonomics Explained
Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is already a billion-dollar tour: with an average audience of 72,000 each performance, that’s around $17million EVERY PERFORMANCE. Over 4.3million tickets have already been sold in the US since the start of the tour – and now she’s going worldwide. Now, of course most of that is profit for the venue and for Taylor Swift – but the knock-on effect of sellout events at venues with tens of thousands of people has a macro-impact on the local economy around each stadium.
There will be an estimated $5bn (yes, BILLION) of consumer spending worldwide thanks to Taylor’s tour. This covers everything from hotels to taxis and other transportation, to restaurants and hospitality venues, even to merchandise. When Swift comes to town, the local economy booms.
This isn’t an entirely new thing – the Rolling Stones used to be ‘the only show in town’ with everyone talking about it, hotels fully booked, and the local hospitality industry thriving. But in today’s world of social media, the megastars are truly huge – it’s not just Taylor, either. The Beyonce Effect is credited with a noticeable and traceable 9.7% boost to Sweden’s economy in May 2023.
So, how can you make the most of being near to a Taylor venue in the coming months?
Make Swift Money: Rent a Room (Or Your Whole House)
Accommodation is at an absolute premium for Taylor Swift tour locations, and you can benefit from it. Whether you want to offer your spare room to a couple of people or can escape elsewhere to let them hire your whole house for a few days, it’s one of the quickest ways to make a LOT of money.
Even better, doing this when you live in a stadium town (or an area with a large concert venue) means you could rent your room or house on a regular basis whenever a big-name star comes to play or a sporting fixture is on. Platforms such as Air BnB are the obvious route for anyone planning to regularly rent out their space for concert goers, but if you want to start off with just the Swifties then it’s worth promoting on your social media platforms to let friends and friends of friends know that you have a space available.
There are some risks to renting out your whole house – you won’t be able to control noise or damages – but you can get a much higher fee for doing so. Advertising through a platform like Air BnB or Booking.com also gives you some protections from difficult customers. The flip side of this is staying in the house and renting out rooms – you need to put up with disruption to your usual routine, but can ensure your guests are well-behaved. There is a security issue letting strangers into your home, so secure valuables out of sight and try to not be alone in the house with your new guests.
Rent Your Driveway
Parking is always at a premium in cities anyway, and prices easily bump up when a popular act like Taylor Swift sells out the biggest venue in the area. Make the most of it and rent out your parking space for some quick cash!
Use a platform like JustPark or Park Let to promote your parking space. These platforms take a small fee of a booking, but make it really easy to reach thousands of people looking for parking in your area. Again, this is particularly ideal if you have a spare space and live near to a stadium as you could make cash every time someone big comes to perform. Check the rates for parking closest to the stadium, by hour and overnight, and set yours a little lower to make sure you look like a good deal!
Make Friendship Bracelets
This is a very specific Swift money maker! Taylor Swift fans (Swifties) will make and exchange friendship bracelets with each other at her concerts – even with people they’ve only just met! But for those who haven’t had the time, a last-minute option to buy some friendship bracelets will be a lifesaver for them.
Friendship bracelets aren’t too time intensive and the raw materials (usually cotton thread and alphabet beads) isn’t expensive either. You can make a LOT of bracelets with a small amount of thread, and add any beads or buttons you have stashed in your craft collection.
When you’ve made them, promote on a platform like Etsy or eBay, as well as on your local NextDoor and Facebook groups. If you’re really savvy, talk to local businesses near to the venue to see if they’ll let you sell from their premises if you give them a small percentage – or see if a restaurant or pub want to run an offer giving free Swiftie bracelets away on the night to each customer and buy from you in bulk!
You could also find ways to make other related Swift merch but be VERY careful about breaching any copyright (for example, don’t use her image or artwork from her album on anything). You can, however, use words – so making banners for people to hold up at the event, or tote bags that refer to being a Swiftie from (X town you live in) are a couple of ideas to start with that could make you money without getting you tangled in copyright infringement cases.
Offer to Pet Sit
Of course, Swiftonomics isn’t just about the increase in visitors to a town where she is playing – there are loads of fans who live near you, too! You could make an easy £20-£50 for a night of pet sitting in your local area. The amount depends on how many pets and the time needed – a cat that needs to have a quick visit and be fed might be £10 while two large dogs in need of an evening walk and sofa cuddles while their owners are out could be £50.
Post on your local online groups like NextDoor and Facebook groups to find out if people need your services. If you can put in some leg work, you might find you can manage a few pets in one night – visiting three cats for a feed and litter check, plus walking a couple of dogs, for example. If you want to be a sitter more regularly, check out our article on how to become a pet sitter and make extra money while enjoying the benefits of being around animals.
Get Social
Make the most of a true phenomenon coming to town and get busy on your social media. Follow the crowds, interview them, find out what they’re most excited about – and find the most dedicated Swift fan in the crowd. This is particularly ideal if you’re a social media influencer (or want to be one) making money from your social content, because it’s the type of video and photo media that could quickly go viral.
If you want to be a TV presenter, it’s a great calling card to practice your interview skills, too! And local TV and newspapers will also be on the lookout for unique photos and clips of the huge event that is a Taylor Swift circus (and the Swift fandom) which could net you some cash, too.
Find a Promotional Job
You’re not the only one who wants to make the most of Swiftonomics and earn extra cash while she is in town! Your local restaurants, pubs, bars, and shops will want to take advantage of the huge increase in footfall. Offer your services for temporary promotional staff – handing out flyers with exclusive offers, posting on local social media about deals, and helping businesses tap into the Swift crowds.
These are just some of the ways you could make money with Swiftonomics – can you think of any others? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments section!