The power of the pink economy

Pink is the new dollar, in view of recent patterns in the entertainment industry. A report by Morgan Stanley estimates that between July and September alone, spending from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concerts and the Barbie and Oppenheimer movies will add about $8.500 billion to U.S. GDP. Lots of money. Neither more nor less than half of what Spain spends per year on R + D + i, according to the General State Budgets for 2023.

These are staggering figures. Taylor Swift will offer a total of 25 concerts in the United States, at an average of spending between tickets, flights, hotels, restaurants and clothes to live up to the occasion of $ 1,300 (about 1,215 euros) per spectator. In the case of Beyoncé, her fans pay something more, about $ 1,800 to attend her Renassaince World Tour, which is already having cash availability to dedicate it to leisure. The figure is not minor because two-thirds of the GDP of the United States derives directly from consumer spending. In fact, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve itself acknowledged in a recent report that the local economy had improved thanks to the concerts scheduled by Swift and the X network (in the absence of a switchboard) burned with the data.

Fed Beige Book: "May was the strongest month for hotel revenue in Philadelphia since the onset of the pandemic, in large part due to an influx of guests for the Taylor Swift concerts in the city" pic.twitter.com/s8s6PlQvjN

— The Transcript (@TheTranscript_) July 16, 2023

It is not surprising that there are cakes for hosting some of these phenomena. Taylor Swift will arrive with The Eras Tour next year in Spain and will offer a single concert on May 30 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Tickets went on sale on July 13 and sold out the same day. We are not going to echo the figures that are being asked for resale for some of the 70,000 tickets sold because they almost border on indecency. Such is the avalanche of followers who have been left with the desire, who created a hastag to ask for a second concert, with little success at the moment.

Hello, I have made this account to produce noise and that Taylor Swift's team announces a second date in Spain to be the only destination with a date and basically sold out (except for VIP tickets which many can not afford)

— The Eras Tour Madrid Night 2 (@the_eras37352) July 15, 2023

In the case of Barbie, its premiere in the United States in July coincided with that of Oppenheimer, two totally opposite films and that unleashed the phenomenon #Barbenheimer in networks to double and see both films on the same day. As the summer has progressed, Barbie and its parody of the patriarchal model has been imposed in collection to the story of the physicist who made possible the development of nuclear weapons: in just over a month he has already raised about 600 million dollars in the United States and more than 1,300 million worldwide.

Greta Gerwig's BARBIE is already the highest-grossing film of 2023 worldwide.

It has surpassed Super Mario Bros in collection and goes for more with its re-release in IMAX this September 23.

The real cinematic 💗 event #Barbiepic.twitter.com/sHc9LAI0Fv

— Carla ❁ (@shannonlada) September 2, 2023

There are thoughtful analyses, such as the one that the Harvard Gazette has dedicated to the phenomenon it calls "the summer of girls", due to the revolution that these products of female empowerment have caused in the consumption of leisure by women. But just take a look at the call it X network to see that the followers of these artists do not make distinction of sex and that it is not something reduced exclusively to women.

Women are filling stadiums, flocking to movie theaters, and watching the FIFA Women's World Cup during what has been called the "Barbie-Taylor-Beyoncé summer" https://t.co/ESeWlNTJOD

— Harvard University (@Harvard) August 25, 2023

The really important thing about the phenomenon is that it is they, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, the protagonist and producer of Barbie, Margot Robbie, and the director of the film, Greta Gerwig, who have taken the reins. Of their careers, of their films, of the stories they want to tell and how to tell them. With that they are making a lot of money and in the world of economics, if you generate money you have power.

For those who still walk with looks, Alexandre Muns recalled in Cinco Días that when Swift's traditional record label sold the rights to her first ten albums, she re-recorded all her songs and recovered her rights by the way of the facts. Thus they begin to take their place in an industry that on too many occasions has used women as a simple product and, if it lasts, thus begins to outline another model of economy. If you want, call it pink.

The 'Barbie economy': temporary bubble or paradigm shift? @taylorswift13 & #ErasTour are most efficient stimulus program. $193 million for #Denver economy, etc https://t.co/qWmDcRr3fB via @cincodiascom

— Dr. Alexandre Muns Rubiol (@alexmuns) September 2, 2023