Exclusive:Can superstars still bank on fans splurging for concerts like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé did last year?

Exclusive:Can superstars still bank on fans splurging for concerts like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé did last year?

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé raked in some serious concert money in 2023. This year, Swift is continuing her legacy tour and other pop stars such as Olivia Rodrigo and Bad Bunny are taking the stage as Americans are expected to continue spending on live music — though at a slower pace than they did last year.

Americans splurged on concerts in 2023, selling out major stadiums and driving up hotel revenues. It was remarkable, given that inflation was elevated and interest rates were at their highest in two decades.

Despite evidence of a slight slowdown this year, (ticket sales for the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival were slower, joining other festivals seeing a similar slowdown in sales, according to Billboard,) there likely won’t be a sharp pullback anytime soon.

The broader US economy is estimated to remain solid throughout 2024, with Federal Reserve officials expecting it to continue expanding and for unemployment to remain low (but edge higher), according to their latest economic projections.

That means fans will have the disposable income needed to snag concert tickets as employers keep pumping out jobs and workers continue to command decent wage growth, according to economists.

There has also been a long-term trend of people focusing their spending more on experiences, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic kept fans stuck at home for more than a year. Demand for concerts remains robust and experts say that musicians are capitalizing on that.