The Economics of Taylor Swift

In April 2024, Forbes placed Taylor Swift on its Celebrity Billionaires list for the first time, estimating her wealth at $1.1 billion. In 2023, Swift’s “Era’s” tour had estimated revenue of $900 million from tickets and $130 million from merchandise. 

These are not isolated events, but are the result of Swift’s disciplined approach over many years to develop revenue generating assets and upend entertainment industry norms by reduce the financial role of intermediaries. 

The webcast will first explore the types of rights that determine ownership and revenues, and then discuss how royalties are collected and paid. We will then examine the business valuation of music catalogs. Finally, we will discuss how Swift’s understanding of the key revenue drivers in the music industry has helped her to generate immense wealth and set her up to provide multiple profitable revenue streams in the future. 

Learning objectives include: 

• Review the two types of music copyrights – master rights and publishing rights. 
• Discuss types of music royalties and how they are collected and paid.
• Explain how a music catalog is valued. 
• Examine the revenue generating potential of Taylor Swift’s music catalog, why it was sold for over $300 million, and why Taylor Swift decided to re-record her first six albums.
• Explore the innovative ways that Taylor Swift has successfully challenged long-standing business and financial practices in the music and film industries. 
• Discuss how Swift approaches potential financial deals, and how her due diligence of a crypto-currency opportunity kept her out of a $5 billion class-action lawsuit

This webcast is applicable for accounting and finance professionals at every level of public, governmental, and private practice.