If you admire singer Taylor Swift’s business savvy, now you can take a deep dive into the subject.
Smithsonian Associates is hosting a Zoom class called Swiftonomics: The Economics of Taylor Swift on February 12 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The class is $25 for Smithsonian members and $30 for nonmembers.
American University economics professor Kara Reynolds is teaching the course. According to the Smithsonian, the class will explore “the unique economic issues associated with Swift and her impact on the music industry, including the relationship between economic inequality and the economics of superstars, and how she combats gender discrimination in the music industry.”
Swift’s Eras Tour was the highest-grossing music tour of all time, with revenue exceeding $1 billion. Reynolds will discuss how the tour financially affected not only Swift, but the cities where she performed and a wide range of industries.
Reynolds will also address how the Eras Tour helped prompt the Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster.
The course is the brainchild of two American University students, Megan Wysocki and Mackenzie Shultz. They created the one-credit class last year as their entry into the school’s department of economics student-designed course competition.
“Mackenzie and Megan did a fantastic job designing a sample syllabus for the course,” Reynolds said about the class last fall. “As a Swiftie myself, I was happy to sponsor the submission. … Taylor Swift is a fantastic musician and an extremely savvy businesswoman who has conquered the music industry. The economic lessons from her career extend far beyond the individual artist.”
Feature image courtesy Disney+
