On the heels of news that Taylor Swift‘s just-completed Eras Tour grossed more than $2 billion, now it’s being reported that the superstar handed out $197 million of that haul to tour employees as bonuses on top of their regular salaries, according to People magazine.
The $197 million figure indicates that almost 10% of the tour’s overall gross was put back into bonuses for team members.
The article says that everyone who worked on the Eras Tour was a recipient of some of this largess, including “truck drivers, caterers, instrument techs, merch team, lighting, sound, production staff and assistants, carpenters, dancers, band, security, choreographers, pyrotechnics, riggers, hair, make-up, wardrobe, physical therapists and video team.”
It’s not the first time her penchant for bonuses has been reported, although this eclipses the previous figure given. In August 2023, when Swift wrapped up the first American leg of the world tour, People reported that she had given out $55 million in bonuses.
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The 149-date stadium tour wrapped up Sunday night in Vancouver, B.C. Swift made sure to share her appreciation for her team on stage, including a lengthy group hug at the end of the show during the “Karma” outro and individual hugs with her dancers and backup singers.
Swift’s commercial roll is not ending with the end of the Eras Tour. Her album “The Tortured Poets Department,” far and away the most successful release of 2024, just returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, thanks to the fresh release of physical editions of the “Anthology” deluxe version over the Black Friday weekend. An “Eras Tour” book also came close to setting a one-week record by selling more than 800,000 copies in its first week in Target stores.