Why the Singapore government struck a ‘deal’ to host Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong recently defended the deal his government offered to American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, to ensure that she exclusively performed in Singapore as part of her ongoing global tour.

Called “The Eras Tour”, each concert is a nearly three-and-a-half-hour-long show that features hits from the different eras of her career. It has been making waves with the record number of sales and audiences it has attracted across the world.

Beginning in March 2023, the tour is set to go on till the end of this year. In December 2023, it grossed around $1 billion – making it the highest-grossing music tour of all time.

However, a few of Singapore’s Southeast Asian neighbours, such as Thailand and the Philippines, have expressed their criticism of the deal. We explain why.

On Tuesday (March 5), while on a visit to Australia, the Singapore PM spoke about the issue at a press conference.

“Our agencies negotiated an arrangement with her (Swift) to come to Singapore and perform and to make Singapore her only stop in Southeast Asia. And there was a certain incentive provided to her from our Tourism Development Fund, and a deal was reached,” he said.

Saying it had turned out to be a “very successful arrangement”, he added, “I don’t see that as being unfriendly.” A Philippines lawmaker named Joey Salceda had earlier demanded that his country’s government should lodge a formal protest against Singapore. He said, “This isn’t what good neighbours do”.

Last month, Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin also spoke about the deal. According to Singapore’s ChannelNews Asia (CNA), he said that “the Singapore government offered around $2 million to $3 million per show in exchange of exclusivity.” However, CNA added that the figure might have been the total sum paid for the six shows set to take place in the city-state in early March.

A recent statement from a spokesperson in Thavisin’s office denied that the PM’s comments were critical. “Singapore’s proposal was an approach that shows they dared to think and dared to do it, and that successfully made Taylor Swift’s team agree to have the exclusive performance in Singapore, the only country in the region. That has benefited the country,” it said.

Why did Singapore push for this arrangement with Swift?
It likely has to do with capturing the lucrative concert economy. Concerts from music stars who have a global audience – such as Swift, Coldplay, Beyonce, the K-pop groups BTS and Blackpink – often give the local economy a temporary boost.

Some of the multiplier effects are more directly visible. Big artists usually rent out stadiums that have the capacity for 40,000 to 50,000 people, or more. A spokesperson for Accor, the largest hotel group in Singapore, told the South China Morning Post that hotel bookings over March 2024 had surged, with some properties completely booked on the concert dates.

Fans buy tickets that go up to $300 (around Rs 25,000) for these artists during the official online sale. However, many have to buy tickets through re-sellers, who are quick to manipulate the online system and secure the tickets first. Tickets can then cost $1,000 (Rs 82,000) or more.

Further, in a situation like Singapore’s, where it is the only concert location in Asia apart from Japan, fans from nearby countries also fly down. The demand greatly outsizes the supply.

Since so much money is being spent, many fans make a vacation out of the concert. They spend a few more days in the host country, visit other cities, and spend on a range of things – food and drinks, accommodation, travel, shopping, etc.

Erica Tay, Maybank director of macro research, told The Washington Post that Swift’s Singapore shows were likely to bring in around $260 million to $375 million.

In general, Southeast Asian countries enjoy friendly relations towards one another. Despite some neighbours’ criticism, Indonesia and Hong Kong also expressed interest in hosting similar concerts in the future.

SCMP notes that Indonesian Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno said the government needed “what Singapore and Australia managed to pull off, which is to bring Taylor Swift. We need Swiftonomics in Indonesia”. He also spoke to Bloomberg about the Indonesia Tourism Fund, a $127 million fund that is being launched to support music, sports and cultural events

Additionally, even beyond the Swift-Singapore arrangement, fans from Asia and Africa often criticise global artists for their choice of tour stops. While the US, Europe, Australia and Japan see artists perform often, major countries in Asia and Africa are given a miss.

That choice on the part of artists, however, also has to do with larger issues such as the infrastructure capacities of the host country, the government’s policies on arts and entertainment, transportation services available, the presence of skilled workers to hire as support staff, and so on. A profitable tour matters, since most artists’ earnings come from live shows.