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Taylor Swift paid out a huge $197million in bonuses to staff who worked on her Eras Tour, according to a report from People.
It has been a case of good ‘Karma’ for the workers including dancers, security, and truck drivers who have worked tirelessly since the tour began in March 2023, contributing to a staggering $2.5billion in ticket and merchandise sales.
Workers were paid the bonuses on top of their salaries over the past 21 months. An earlier report from People in August 2023 found Swift paid out over $55million in bonuses alone for the North American tour leg.
Swift concluded the Eras Tour on Sunday, December 8 in Vancouver, Canada—the 149th show in the tour which covered 53 cities and 5 continents.
“We have toured the entire world,” Swift said. “We have had so many adventures. It has been the most exciting, powerful, electrifying, intense, most challenging thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.”
“I want to thank every single one of you for being a part of the most thrilling chapter of my entire life to date — my beloved Eras Tour,” she said at the end the concert.
Taylor Swift Touring, the performer’s production company, informed the New York Times this week that the Eras Tour has achieved unprecedented heights, becoming the best-selling tour of all time as it achieved $2,077,618,725 in gross ticket sales, doubling that of any concert tour in history.
A reported 10,168,008 people attended the Tour in that time, with a further $400million anticipated in merchandise sales.
The $197million in bonus payouts covered a huge range of workers employed by Taylor Swift Touring, including the band, carpenters, caterers, choreographers, dancers, instrument technicians, lighting, make-up, merch, physical therapists, production staff, pyrotechnics, riggers, security, sound, truck drivers, video team, and wardrobe.
End of year bonuses: Who’s winning and losing in 2024?
As we reach the end of 2024, attention turns to the prospect of end-of-year bonus payouts.
Each year there are winners and losers. In November 2024, a report produced by Johnson Associates suggested Wall Street’s financial services professionals would be in for a bumper end-of-year, with bonuses set to increase for the first time since 2021.
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Analysing 13 of America’s biggest investment and commercial banks and 17 of the largest asset management firms, the report suggested debt underwriters are in line for the most substantial bump, with 2024 bonus payouts set to rise up to 35% compared to 2023.
Bonus payouts are also expected to increase across hedge funds, asset and wealth management firms, private equity and private credit, insurance, equity sales and trading, fixed income sales and trading, firm management, advisory, and corporate staff.
Not all employees will be so fortunate. Across other industries and at specific firms bonuses have been scaled back after tricky economic conditions across 2024.
Starbucks, for example, has informed staff they can expect to see a 40% cut to their annual bonus payouts this year due to the coffee giant’s underwhelming financial performance.
In 2023, year-end bonuses awarded to US employees fell by 21% compared to 2022, from an average of $2,730 in December 2022 to $2,145 in December 2023, according to research from payroll software platform Gusto.
