Week 7: Examining Boygenius, Focusing on the Long Term, and Looking Ahead with Swift's Strategies

Hello, and welcome back to my Senior Project blog! Throughout week 7, I explored the opening act portion of my research question through the focal point of the band boygenius and continued with further interview-based analysis. 

When examining Chartmetric’s data for boygenius — the indie supergroup composed of solo artists Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus — it appeared that the Eras Tour did not heavily impact their monthly Spotify listeners. Phoebe Bridgers was the second opening act for Eras shows during May of 2023 across Nashville, Philadelphia, Boston, and New Jersey. During her Nashville sets, on May 5th and May 6th, Bridgers brought out Baker and Dacus as a surprise for the crowd, performing songs from their recently released album the record. This surprise caused a lot of excitement among the boygenius fan base, Nashville being Baker’s hometown and this being their first time playing a stadium.

However, the intrigue appeared to span beyond their immediate fan base – who jokingly often call themselves “girl idiots” as a play on the band’s name. As indicated by the graph from Google Trends to the right, there was a decent spike in Google searches for boygenius in the Nashville area, with interest increasing from zero to over 50 around May 6th (see the first spike in the graph). However, there is a much larger increase in their Google interest around their headline show in Nashville in late June as part of the Re:Set concert series – a spike almost twice their Eras appearance. Additionally, in Chartmetric’s graph seen below, the large increase in listeners is much earlier than their Eras show, attributed to the release of their

first LP the record on March 31st, 2023. They gained 1.67 million monthly listeners within the first month of the record’s release – approximately a 58% increase. This was likely aided by artists like Swift giving them the golden stamp of approval, writing in an Instagram story that the album was “genuinely a masterpiece.” Yet, we can also attribute this growth purely to the quality of their work, leading to a sharp increase in their listeners which they did not experience whatsoever during their short Eras exposure (see the relatively flat, even decreasing, line at the end of the graph on the left). 

But why does making an appearance on the highest-grossing tour in history not have a larger impact? I decided to investigate this question with the help of NYU Music Business Professor Robert Weitzner. With 30 years of experience in the industry and a specific interest in entrepreneurship as well as music’s intersection with technology, he attributes much of the Eras Tour’s success, in today’s digital and streaming age, to the communal experience of live music – “the gathering of the tribe.” He believes that the vibrant Swiftie community, fueled by our current experience economy, is what makes the Eras Tour so desirable to attend and so monetarily successful. But above all, what he deems as crucial to the leverage Swift has gained and highly connected to the opening act portion of my research question, is Swift’s focus on the long term. Swift is not an ephemeral artist. Her 18 years in the industry, supported by her prolificness and consistency of quality music, are focused on building a sustainable, enduring career. Although we may not be seeing Swift’s opening acts experience a large, sustained boost in listeners/engagement around their Eras Tour shows, one thing they do have is increased name recognition and the Taylor Swift stamp of approval. Artists like Phoebe Bridgers can leverage their Eras exposure to take their personal brand further. For example, Ed Sheeran opened for Taylor Swift’s 2013 RED Tour, and now, after a sustained focus on his artistry and business, he competes with Swift for records such as the highest-grossing tour of all time. Swift’s Eras Tour opening acts may see a boost in their career, but Mr. Weitzner claims that leveraging this opportunity must be done strategically and with an entrepreneurial mindset. 

We will have to wait and see if this prophecy is fulfilled, but some signs already align with Mr. Weitzner’s claims. GAYLE, for example, has fallen off the pop culture radar following her Eras shows. Her momentarily viral songs on TikTok alone are not enough to support a career in the competitive music industry. As Mr. Weitzner stated, an artist is “not going to live a life based on a moment.” Yet, Phoebe Bridgers, who understood that her exposure from Eras was valuable and something she could take advantage of, has remained relevant, going on tour with boygenius throughout the Summer/Fall of 2023 and winning four Grammys earlier this year. Among professionals in the industry, it is known that going on tour as an opener is often a sunk cost, but they are willing to accept a slot with the long-term mindset of growing their audience. It is an investment in the future of an artist’s career. Although it appears, based solely on data, that these opening acts are not seeing any substantial shift in their careers, it is crucial that we (those analyzing the industry) can also maintain this long-term growth mindset. It will be fascinating to keep an eye on these artists in the coming years.

A conversation with Christian from Avenue Steaks & Pizza (a local business in Philadelphia) expressed a similar

sentiment of looking ahead, with a business-oriented, long-term growth mindset. Considering their location within walking distance of Lincoln Financial Field (the stadium Swift was performing at), they knew that they had to be prepared for a big weekend, but Christian stated that they could not believe the amount of business they were doing. According to rough estimates, Avenue Steaks & Pizza saw about a 300% increase in their sales that weekend. However, most importantly, they maintained a focus on sustaining this growth. As a relatively new business, only having opened in 2021, Christian stated they weren’t as established as many other businesses or tourist spots in Philly. However, after feeding Swifties throughout the weekend and delivering about 80 pizzas to Swift and her team (and being reposted on many of Swift’s fan accounts), they were also given Swift’s stamp of approval. Like her opening acts, Christian and his team had the chance to grow their business as a result of their Eras Tour exposure. With a mind toward enduring revenue increases, they have since catered for artists like Alicia Keys, Zach Bryan, and Ed Sheeran, and their presence on DoorDash and UberEats is felt as they deliver pizzas to hotels across the city when an artist is in town. They have begun keeping a close eye on concert schedules, and the local businesses in the area are “all waiting and hoping that the next big thing is coming to [their] city.”

Finally, Mr. Weitzner also commented on how Swift’s Eras Tour is impacting how professionals like himself are pinpointing success in the industry. These days, experiences are something people are willing to pay a premium for. But not all artists are at Taylor Swift’s level. Few artists can build a dedicated following that will travel the country to see a concert multiple times, with the cost being almost irrelevant when the experience is so valuable. Mr. Weitzner cited the Rolling Stones and U2 as two groups who, he believes, have demonstrated a similar phenomenon in the past. However, in 2024, Swift has something those bands did not: “social interconnectedness and the ability to virally ramp very quickly the hype around a tour.” Her strategies can teach musicians and industry professionals a few things about touring in 2024. Primarily, these lessons center around building authentic, genuine connections with fans – a deep-rooted loyalty that she monetizes in a way that does not feel exploitative. Mr. Weitzner claims that artists would benefit from looking at how she’s “very good at making people feel good about parting with their money” – especially considering that Alan Kreuger reinforces in his book Rockonomics that most musicians earn the majority of their income from live performances. As mentioned previously, the industry can also learn from her focus on the long-term and consistency of building her personal brand. Swift has been working hard throughout her entire career, taking advantage of “the moment”/trends when beneficial, but always keeping an eye on building a sustainable business and maintaining a clear artistic vision. Taylor Swift is Taylor Swift, and there is no one exactly like her. As Mr. Weitzner explains, aspiring musicians should examine her consistency and even her consistency of change – her ability to transform and cross genres while maintaining her personal identity and dedicated fan base. Of the (around) 10 million artists on Spotify, Mr. Weitzner reinforced that it is extremely challenging to be part of the 1,250 that generate over $1 million and even more so the “100 or 50 at the very top who have multiple billion-streamed songs.” As he stated, “she’s a sui generis, one of one,” but nonetheless, there is a lot this industry can learn from her, taking her strategies and morphing them to apply to the next big artist.

Ultimately, last week, as Swift began the European leg of the Eras Tour, I enjoyed delving into my study of boygenius and engaging in stimulating conversations with professionals who assisted my understanding of what “Swift’s impact” truly means.