A thought experiment: Why is Taylor Swift as big as she is?

Taylor Swift is the biggest pop star we've seen in a couple of generations. But why? What is it that makes her so special?

With three of six Taylor Swift shows in Toronto complete, the city — which really should be named “Tayronto” because it has given over everything to her — gets a chance to catch its breath and enjoy slightly less traffic and congestion until everything ramps up again for the next round of stadium shows on Thursday.

Southern Ontario — nay, Canada — hasn’t seen this kind of frenzy over a pop star in…well, maybe ever.

You’ve no doubt heard about the unbelievable amounts people have been willing to pay for tickets on the secondary market. One man emailed me marvelling that his daughter was planning to buy a ticket behind the stage for $5,000. I heard of a woman who was offered $38,000 for her tickets but refused to give them up. BlogTO has been monitoring the situation and found a seat going for $99,507 on Vividseats. (Prices have moderated substantially since then. I just did a search and found a floor seat near the catwalk for just under $12K. A bargain, right?) The absolute lowest last-minute ticket was listed for over $2,400. Those are Super Bowl-level prices. Maybe higher.

Meanwhile, basic hotel rooms are going for $2,000 a night or more. The city has extra transit. Taxi companies, Uber, and Lyft pulled out all the stops. A security zone was created around the Rogers Centre while the venue itself invested $8 million on upgrading its 5G infrastructure so that everyone in attendance can TikTok and Instagram their way to heaven. Unhoused people were moved away from the area and into hotels for the duration.

Some enterprising citizens have left town, renting their homes on Airbnb to fans. A city street has been named Taylor Swift Way. Taylgate parties — special events for Tay-Tay fans — have been packed.  There were long lines of people at Rogers Centre last week to buy merch — which all sold out, by the way.

The net economic gain to the city? Somewhere close to $300 million.

Lovely. A lot of fans are very, very happy and plenty of companies and people are going to reap some very, very big revenues. But… why?

Hang on, Swifties. This is not takedown of your idol. What follows is not meant to diminish, disparage, or otherwise discount anything about the object of your worship, devotion, and affection. And far be it from me to question your musical taste and how you spend your discretionary income. I’m just asking a simple question: Why is Taylor Swift as big as she is?