Singer is the only artist in the music market who made it to the list with profits coming exclusively from her musical works
Taylor Swift officially joined the Forbes billionaires list this Tuesday (2). But what sets the 34-year-old singer-songwriter apart from other super-rich artists is how she amassed her billion-dollar fortune.
The “Cruel Summer” star ranked 2,545th on the 2024 list of the world’s billionaires. According to the ranking, there are more billionaires than ever before (141 more than last year and 26 more than the record 2021), with the collective fortune reaching US$14.2 trillion (R$71.7 trillion). Swift’s inclusion comes after Forbes declared the singer a billionaire in October 2023 and reported her net worth at US$1.1 billion (R$5.5 billion).
In a rare achievement, Swift is the first artist to achieve the milestone through songwriting and performance alone. Her fortune doesn’t largely derive from lucrative side ventures (like beauty brands, fashion lines, beverage investments, among others), which have been typical paths for artists to become billionaires in recent years. This puts her in a unique category with artists like Bruce Springsteen, who earned $1 billion from tours.
The Eras Tour leveraging profits
More than US$500 million (R$2.5 billion) of the artist’s fortune comes from song royalties and tours. She earned approximately $190 million (after taxes) from the first leg of the Eras tour and an additional $35 million from the first two weeks of the concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which became the highest-grossing film of the year. history of the genre.
Meanwhile, another $500 million of his earnings came from increasing the value of his music catalog. His records (the first six albums) were purchased in 2019 by Scooter Braun – a huge controversy to this day – and eventually sold to Shamrock Capital for US$300 million in 2020.
At the time, Swift also parted ways with her former record label, Big Machine Label Group, to join Universal Music Group’s Republic Records – a deal that would give the superstar complete ownership over her songwriting and recordings, thus increasing her earnings long-term.
Making Money (Taylor’s Version)
Since switching labels, Swift has released four new albums: Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Midnights, and re-recorded Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) . The artist is the sole songwriter on more than a quarter of her Billboard Top 50 hits, though she often shares songwriting credits with collaborators like Jack Antonoff and Max Martin — who also receive a cut of record sales.
On April 19, the pop star will release her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department , which will also massively increase her earnings. Swift announced the new record during her acceptance speech for Album of the Year at the 2024 Grammy Awards in February .
Along the way of becoming a billionaire, the singer also had a huge monetary impact on the NFL . It created a brand value equivalent to US$331.5 million (R$1.6 billion) for the Chiefs and the league, according to data from Apex Marketing Group. This number comes from mentions in print, digital, radio, TV and social media of Swift from the team’s first game, on September 24, until January 22.
