In the modern world, women are increasingly influencing the economy. They become more active in the labor market, organize their own business more often and, of course, spend more. There are whole segments of the market focused on women.
Last year was a breakthrough year for the girl power phenomenon, demonstrating the economic power of female celebrities. Pop singers Taylor Swift and Beyonce earned billions on world tours and brought billions to the economies of different countries, South Korean K-POP group Blackpink helped Asian countries strengthen ties and the tourism industry, and the blockbuster about the iconic Barbie doll became the highest-grossing film of 2023.
In this article, a columnist for the Finam Financial Group forum examines the main events in the entertainment industry.
The Taylor Swift and Beyonce Effect
In 2023, two grandiose world tours of American pop divas started - Beyonce's Renaissance Tour and Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Both celebrities have millions of fans around the world, some of whom are ready to follow their idols to concerts in different countries and cities. Such fan tourism contributes to an increase in demand for hotels, food, trips to places where singers come, and so on. Such excitement becomes a boost for the development of the local economy and brings it a good profit. Bank of America analysts have already dubbed the process "fanflation" - live performances by stars stimulate spending and move supply and demand in a positive direction.
It has come to the point that the powerful economic effect of Taylor Swift's concerts and the singer's business path are taught at universities, and her influence on the GDP of countries and sales of companies is called "swiftonomics". So, ticket giants Ticketmaster and Seat Geek sold out tickets to stadiums across the United States, making a staggering profit of $554 million. Globally, total ticket sales for the Eras Tour amounted to about $1.04 billion, a record level in the history of celebrity tours. In general, the Eras tour can bring $5 billion to the US economy.
After the announcement that Taylor Swift is dating Travis Kelsey, a Kansas City Chiefs player, the popularity of NFL matches increased by 53% among teenage girls, and sales of league merchandise also increased. Thus, the Taylor Swift brand brought the NFL $331.5 million in January 2024.
According to Global Edge, citing Mitsumasa Itou, a lecturer at the University of Tokyo, Taylor Swift's tour brought Japan revenue of 34.1 billion yen, or $229.6 million, becoming the largest music event in the country in terms of economic efficiency. Many states want to capitalize on the "Taylor Swift effect", so politicians themselves invite the star to come to their country with performances. Experts have already estimated that the total economic effect of 151 Taylor Swift concerts could reach $75 billion.
Beyonce has a similar effect on the global economy. The singer has already been accused of increasing inflation in Sweden, after her fans provoked a spike in prices for accommodation in hotels and restaurants. When Beyonce asked fans to come to concerts in silver outfits, it caused an explosive demand for suitable clothes and jewelry, and sales of small businesses on Etsy offering silver, chrome and sequins skyrocketed.
According to The New York Times, Beyonce's tour brought in about $4.5 billion to the American economy, about the same amount as the 2008 Olympic Games brought to Beijing. During the tour, Beyonce also actively supported the black community, which increased sales and profits of companies owned by black people.
Blackpink strengthens ties between South Korea and Vietnam
The girls band Blackpink is one of the main ones in the K-POP music genre, which has captured the world in recent years. The fortune of each of the four participants is estimated at $32 million. Thanks to them, Korean music began to be listened to in many countries. The cult of K-POP has already penetrated the USA and Europe. This contributes to the growth of interest in South Korean music and language, and also develops tourism in the country.
In July 2023, pop stars came to Hanoi, specially passing by Hyundai car dealerships, CJ Group cinemas and other South Korean brands represented throughout Vietnam. Economic ties between the two Asian states are strengthening, South Korea has been Vietnam's second largest investor for 10 years. Last year, the number of K-POP fans in Vietnam jumped by 223%. And now the South Korean authorities are considering a new cultural and entertainment wave as a way to strengthen business relations between the countries.
The Blackpink band is called part of the South Korean expansion in Vietnam, a VIP ticket to their concert cost more than the minimum monthly salary in Vietnam, but the number of wealthy residents of the country increased by 110% in 2016-2022, according to Knight Frank Wealth Report.
Barbimania has flown all over the world and supported the British economy
The highest-grossing blockbuster of 2023 was Greta Gerwig's Barbie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The picture turned out to be feminist in the spirit of the times and attracted millions of interested women in bright pink trendy clothes to cinemas. With a budget of $145 million, "Barbie" grossed a whopping $1.446 billion at the box office. The film about an animated doll traveling to the real world became the most successful release in the history of Warner Bros., overtaking "Harry Potter", "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Joker" in terms of box office sales.
As Yahoo! Finance notes, "Barbie" was filmed in London and brought 80 million pounds or $99 million to the British economy, creating 685 jobs, hiring more than 6,000 extras and working with more than 750 local businesses. The UK is Warner Bros.' largest premises outside the United States, which employs more than 4 thousand permanent employees. By 2027, the company plans to expand its production facilities in Britain by 50%. In addition, "Barbie" grossed 95 million pounds ($118 million) at the British box office.
