Taylor Swift Concert Coming to Disney+

Disney announced that Taylor Swift The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) will make its streaming debut exclusively on Disney+. This shares the announcement details along with our commentary.

In making the announcement Disney CEO Bob Iger said, “The Eras Tour has been a true phenomenon that has and continues to thrill fans around the world, and we are very excited to bring this electrifying concert to audiences wherever they are, exclusively through Disney+.”

The history-making, cinematic experience from the 14-time Grammy-winning artist, Taylor Swift The Eras Tour directed by Sam Wrench, grossed more than $260 million worldwide at the global box office, making it the top selling concert film of all-time. Taylor Swift The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) will be available to stream on Disney+ starting March 15, 2024.

“Taylor’s Version” of the Eras Tour concert film will be available exclusively on the Disney+ streaming service as part of a regular subscription. Disney noted this version will feature the concert in its entirety as well as have five additional songs not from the original theatrical or digital release, including “Cardigan.”

The film will include all songs from the three Los Angeles tour dates during which it was filmed at SoFi Stadium. That means viewers will get to watch Swift perform four additional acoustic surprise songs from the tour: “I Can See You,” “Maroon,” “You Are in Love” and “Death by a Thousand Cuts.”

Turning to commentary, I dunno, this seems like a big deal? I guess people have strong opinions about Taylor Swift?

I’m just surprised she had the free time to broker this deal with Disney. Must’ve had a bit of a break between the Grammys, her concerts in Japan, rigging the Super Bowl, and being a CIA asset.

Joking aside, Taylor Swift is a juggernaut. Love or hate her–and it’s usually one of the extremes–there’s no denying her popularity. She transcends pop stardom, and has had a massive economic impact. It’s only natural for other businesses, including Disney, to want to tap into the power of “Swiftonomics.”

We already wrote about What Walt Disney World Can Learn From Taylor Swift’s “Summer of Women.” In this case, it’s not so much the theme parks benefitting as it is the Disney+ streaming service. While the company didn’t release terms of the deal, it’s safe to say that there was a bidding war between Disney and…pretty much every other streaming service…for the concert.

It’s also safe to say that Disney+ will see a massive surge in subscribers specifically for the concert film, likely rivaling the weekend when Hamilton debuted on Disney+ and the streaming service saw a 74% spike in app downloads. The key differences are that happened in 2020 when everyone was stuck at home and fewer people had Disney+, but The Eras Tour seems like even more of an “event” film with a more fervent fan following. So who knows, it could do similar numbers.

Swift shocked the movie world last year when she sidestepped normal distributors and partnered directly with AMC to bring The Eras Tour to theaters. The film opened to more than $92 million in ticket sales during its domestic opening weekend, the second-highest debut of a film released in October.

It was also the highest-grossing concert film in domestic box office history, overtaking Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which was released in 2011. Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour film generated more than $180 million at the domestic box office and more than $261 million worldwide. That global figure beats the previous record Michael Jackson’s concert documentary This Is It.

The Eras Tour concert film shifted to on-demand availability on December 13 of last year–the singer’s 34th birthday–with a rental fee of $19.89–the year she was born. That release featured more songs than in the original theatrical run, and now the Disney+ version will build upon that with another 5 songs.

Such a savvy strategy is unsurprising for the singer-songwriter, named by Forbes the second-richest woman in the U.S. music industry. Swift’s Eras Tour is smashing all sorts of records in terms of ticket prices, crowds of fans and revenues. Nearly 54,000 fans attended the average concert on the first American leg of the tour, which concluded last summer. The average ticket price fans paid on Ticketmaster was $254, while resale prices soared into the thousands and tens thousands of dollars.

One study on “Swiftonomics” estimated that the musician’s performances in Colorado’s could boost the state’s GDP via $140 million in consumer spending. In a note, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia stated that Swift’s tour helped stimulate travel and tourism in the region,. The tour and resiliency of consumers attending is said to be a contributor to inflation.

Chicago’s tourism and conventions bureau announced that the city set a record for occupied hotel rooms in June, thanks in large part to the three nights that Swift performed in the city, and brought in $39 million in room revenue. Taylor Swift had a similar impact in Las Vegas. The list goes on and on. Type “[city name] + Taylor Swift Eras Tour + record revenue” into Google, and you’ll find it’s a similar story…pretty much everywhere!

Fans have been spending more than $1,300 on average on tickets, travel and new outfits for the concert night, according to Fortune. The Eras Tour could generate up to $4.6 billion in consumer spending for the U.S. economy in total. The U.S. concerts by Swift and Beyoncé added nearly $6 billion to gross domestic product last year, raising annualized real personal consumption expenditures and GDP by over 0.5 percentage points. That may not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but is an insane number for just the concerts of two musicians.

Given her undeniable popularity and this new partnership with Disney, how soon is too soon before the rumors/speculation/wishful thinking over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: Taylor’s Version?

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YOUR THOUGHTS

What do you think of Disney’s announcement that Taylor Swift The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) will make its streaming debut exclusively on the Disney+ streaming service? Think this will result in a huge new wave of new subscribers? Think this could be the start of a bigger partnership between the singer and Disney? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!