Owners of stadiums and arenas who expected a Taylor Swift tour for her “Lover” album are probably fuming mad this day.
That’s because Swift, a Gulliver in the Lilliputia of the music biz, has opted to perform at only four shows in the US next summer: two in Los Angeles, and two in Foxboro, Mass near Boston.
That’s right: Taylor will open the new SoFi Stadium in Ingelwood, California on July 25th and 26th. Then she’ll do two dates at Gillette Stadium, home of the Patriots the following week.
She will bypass the New York metro area completely (so much for “Welcome to New York,” huh, Taylor?). She’ll ignore all the other major markets in the country. No Giants Stadium, no Madison Square Garden.
Swift has a few other dates planned for Europe, and that’s it.
So she either thinks she made enough money from her “Lover” album or it’s just hubris. She’s also using Messina Touring Group to promote the four shows, snubbing Live Nation and AEG (although the latter partners with MTG).
The concert business is already struggling. Swift won’t have many fans on the touring level with this news. I’m not sure if that’s such a good strategy. Those local promoters have long memories. One day when Swift is not at the top they may recall this episode with less than good feelings.
PS Taylor better calm down. “Lover” is in decline already, having sold about 1.2 million copies in the US. Big hit first week, 89% off second week, another 45% off third week. It’s going to be down another 50% this week. By next summer, “Lover” will be a memory.
