Do superstars like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé still rely on fans splurging for concerts as they did last year?

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé raked in some serious concert money in 2023. This year, Swift is continuing her legacy tour and other pop stars such as Olivia Rodrigo and Bad Bunny are taking the stage as Americans are expected to continue spending on live music — though at a slower pace than they did last year.

Americans splurged on concerts in 2023, selling out major stadiums and driving up hotel revenues. It was remarkable, given that inflation was elevated and interest rates were at their highest in two decades.

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé raked in some serious concert money in 2023. This year, Swift is continuing her legacy tour and other pop stars such as Olivia Rodrigo and Bad Bunny are taking the stage as Americans are expected to continue spending on live music — though at a slower pace than they did last year.

Americans splurged on concerts in 2023, selling out major stadiums and driving up hotel revenues. It was remarkable, given that inflation was elevated and interest rates were at their highest in two decades.

Despite evidence of a slight slowdown this year, (ticket sales for the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival were slower, joining other festivals seeing a similar slowdown in sales, according to Billboard,) there likely won’t be a sharp pullback anytime soon.

The broader US economy is estimated to remain solid throughout 2024, with Federal Reserve officials expecting it to continue expanding and for unemployment to remain low (but edge higher), according to their latest economic projections.

That means fans will have the disposable income needed to snag concert tickets as employers keep pumping out jobs and workers continue to command decent wage growth, according to economists.

There has also been a long-term trend of people focusing their spending more on experiences, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic kept fans stuck at home for more than a year. Demand for concerts remains robust and experts say that musicians are capitalizing on that.

“With the job market and economy holding strong, consumers could continue spending on these tours – and there’s certainly still demand,” Liz Anderson, a content strategist at jobs site Appcast, said in a statement to CNN. “And today’s biggest artists are successful businesspeople backed by huge teams of advisors. They aren’t stupid – they’re looking at the numbers and know when to capitalize on high demand.”

Don’t fans need to recover financially first?

Tickets to see Taylor Swift and Beyoncé last year weren’t cheap. That means many fans likely broke the bank in 2023 to see either (or both) of those two artists — in addition to other touring acts last year such as Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay.

It stands to reason that those folks probably need to sit on the sidelines and save up some money or pay off their cards first before attending another pricey concert. Not to mention that inflation has continued to take a bite out of people’s budget these past few years.

Beyoncé released “Cowboy Carter” on March 29, her eighth studio album featuring 27 tracks rooted in country music. Unsurprisingly, the album’s songs have already seen massive success, breaking streaming records and ranking highly on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.