Thread by @noahpransky

ANTI-HERO POST: Why Taylor Swift did NOT generate $5 billion for the U.S. economy

…and the crazy story about what happened when I tried to fact-check that claim.

2) The first mainstream coverage of “The Taylor Swift Economy” came after the @PhiladelphiaFed noted a surge in hotel biz around the Eras Tour.

“Taylor Swift boosting U.S. economy,” headlines read!

But I actually read the Fed report.

That’s not what it said.

3) So I called the Philly Fed, which provided a pretty scathing statement (by Fed standards)...

...with underlined words and everything!

Check the screengrab:

4) Then, came like 100+ headlines about a new report that found the Eras Tour generated $5 billion for the economy!?!

The headline appeared all across the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and beyond…

5) But who was this firm behind this $5B claim? And what economic principals did they use to arrive at $5B?

I couldn’t find the actual report anywhere – only a press release - so I reached out to the online survey company that pushed it out.

This part was crazy…

6) I reached out to the rather unknown firm behind the "TSwift economy" press release, QuestionPro.

Apparently I was a rare exception, b/c they said virtually nobody else had requested to see the numbers.

They shared it with me, and it was - well...underwhelming.

7) QuestionPro asked TSwift fans online about how much they spent to attend one show.

They then multiplied it by total capacity of all N. American TSwift shows.

Battaboom! $5B!

But as I've detailed before, this kind of calculation ignores some very basic economic concepts...

8) Then, I talked to economists, who pointed out more flaws in the QuestionPro economic impact claim.

"When (concertgoers) spend money on Taylor Swift concert tickets, it means not spending money on other things.”
- @jc_bradbury, economist/Taylor Swift fan

9) QuestionPro told me they were just trying to use survey data to produce a "fun" report, and doing any sort of actual economic analysis was "beyond the scope of this report."

10) Holy Cross economist @VictorMatheson_ told me local claims, such as Swift boosting LA's economy by $320M, were especially deceiving:

“Rock & roll shows are almost always bad for local economies because [the performer] typically takes that money and [it] leaves the economy”

11) You don't think the headlines about Taylor Swift filling big-city hotel rooms, ()...

...could be related to the headlines about traditional summer vacation destinations struggling, do you? () foxbusiness.com/economy/taylor…
foxbusiness.com/real-estate/po…

12) Lemme wrap w/ WHY THIS MATTERS:

Taylor Swift is great & fun surveys are fun!

But don't be fooled - there are biz interests who LOVE using inflated/deceiving "economic impact reports" to justify getting your tax dollars.

I'm just the anti-hero here to try and stop them. 🦸‍♂️