Inside the Big Issue: The economic impact of Taylor Swift

Have you tried to get a seat in The Black Dog pub in Vauxhall recently? After providing the title for a track on the “Anthology” edition of Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, it’s seen overwhelming footfall from fans.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is a statistician’s fever dream. The US leg has already been hailed as the first billion-dollar tour, where Swift sold 4.3 million tickets, with an average price of $238 (£190). Each show (typically to audiences of 72,000 people) grossed around $17m (£13.5m). Then add in $200m (£160m) in merchandise.

Taylor Swift creates a new financial centre of gravity in every city she deigns to visit and so the places she’s due to play in the UK from June must be as excited as the Swifties.

As well as looking at the economic impact of the Eras Tour, we bring our annual festival guide this week. The Association of Independent Festivals found that “a 5,000 capacity festival is worth £1.1m to the local area, while a 110,000 capacity festival can be worth over £27m”. This pales in comparison with Glastonbury which “generates over £100m into the economy of South West England each time it takes place”.

The economic impact of festivals tends to lift the local economies in rural areas, that’s part of the reason why they are so vital. The other is that it’s a great excuse to have a good time.

The other major music event taking place this week is, of course, Eurovision and we also have a fascinating piece about how the history of the continent shaped and continues to reshape international politics.

Since the first ever Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne was held in Lugano (lasting a relatively merciful one hour and 40 minutes with 14 songs from seven countries) Eurovision has rarely been entirely apolitical. The voting is frequently not just about the music, but about linguistic or cultural affinity or even just who hates who.

Perhaps accepting that Eurovision can and does play a political role, even for countries that are not, in fact, in Europe, would be no bad thing. There are worse ways of settling national differences than a song contest.

Read more in our bumper music special this week!

What else is in this week’s issue?

Madness frontman Suggs sang ‘Our House’ – and he shares happy memories of growing up on a council estate

For council house kids of the 1980s, “Our House” by Madness was an anthem and an affirmation. The Conservative government was flogging off social housing and celebrating ownership – slowly, paying rent to the local authority became something to be embarrassed about. But Madness frontman Suggs was having none of it.

Nadine Shah has had demons to fight but now she’s exorcising them on her new album

When singer-songwriter Nadine Shah lost her mother at the height of Covid, she plunged into a nightmare world. But she’s turned her life around and documented her harrowing experiences on a powerful, cathartic new album.

Bruce Dickinson has risen higher than he could have ever dreamed he tells us in a Letter to My Younger Self

Once the Iron Maiden frontman discovered the gift of music his life became a series of sky-high moments. “My escape was into music,” he tells the Big Issue. “I decided to be the John Bonham
of the bongos – but then realised I could sing! I tried acting and had loved it, but it was more like acting up. At least I knew I loved performing. So I stole some bongos from the music room to try to be a drummer.”