Why Taylor Swift’s exclusive concert deal with Singapore has its neighbours sulking

Singaporean fans of Taylor Swift are going gaga over her Eras Tour, but the American singer-songwriter seems to have upset the island country’s neighbours including Thailand and Indonesia with her exclusive concert deal with it.

Swift toured North and South America and Australia before arriving in Singapore.

Singaporean leader defends deal

Amid massive outrage over the exclusive deal with Singapore by Southeast Asian fans, which risks bad blood in the region, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was compelled to defend it on the sidelines of the Asian Summit where Swift gave one of her performances on Tuesday (March 5).

Singapore is a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-nation bloc known as ASEAN. Its three-day summit was expected to focus on member Myanmar's humanitarian crisis and conflicts in the South China Sea.

Instead, Singapore Prime Minister Lee was grilled on the summit's sidelines about the lucrative and exclusive deal his city-state struck with Swift that prevents the singer from taking her Eras Tour to any other stop in Southeast Asia.

Eras Tour

Swift is performing six concerts from March 2 to 9 in Singapore, and some Southeast Asian neighbors complain that the Singapore deal deprives them of the tourism boom her concerts bring to hosts. Her Eras Tour shattered records when it reportedly surpassed $1 billion last year, and her film adaptation of the tour quickly took No. 1 at the box office and became the highest-grossing concert film to date.

Lee confirmed on Tuesday that Swift was provided with “certain incentives” in exchange for making Singapore her only Southeast Asian destination on her Eras Tour. Lee defended the deal at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a self-professed Swiftie whose Spotify Wrapped list boasted Taylor Swift as his second-most streamed artist of 2023. Albanese is hosting the summit in Melbourne, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Australia becoming ASEAN's first external partner.

Lee said that, while he didn't know what Australia's arrangements were, he expected it similarly made “mutually acceptable, sensible arrangements” with Swift when she performed in Melbourne and Sydney — one of which Australia's prime minister attended — before flying to Singapore.

How much is Swift getting per concert?

While Lee did not reveal the cost of the exclusive deal, reports said 34-year-old Swift is being paid a whopping $3 million per concert.

The money is reportedly being paid from government fund established to rebuild tourism after COVID-19 disruptions.

Singapore’s Culture Minister Edwin Tong, however, told the media that the amount paid to Swift is not as high as it is being speculated. “Due to business confidentiality, we cannot reveal the specific size and conditions of the grant,” he said.

Neighbours unhappy

The deal, as expected, has left Singapore’s South Asian neighbours unhappy.

Thailand's Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, brought attention to the deal in February with a public claim that a promoter told him the Singaporean government subsidised the concerts with around $2 million to $3 million per show with a condition that the artist not play anywhere else in Southeast Asia.

Srettha said that if he had known about the deal before, he was confident he would be able to pull off something similar.

But Thailand doesn't hold it against Singapore, said Prommin Lertsuridej, the secretary-general of the prime minister. He told reporters in a group interview on Monday (March 4) that Thailand took what Singapore did as an example, and while Thailand already has some laws in place to allow such incentive packages, the government is working to remove red tape and make Thailand a more attractive venue for international events.

“We learn from each other,” Prommin said, adding that he admired Singapore for being able to come up with and achieve this “good business idea.”

‘Lesson for us,’ says Indonesia

In February, Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno took to Instagram to apologise to Swift's fans, saying: “International music events, such as Taylor Swift concerts, do have a big impact on a country's economy. But I'm sorry Swifties, Taylor Swift hasn't stopped by in Indonesia yet. Bought out by Singapore. However, this is a lesson for us."

Raisa Christy, a 37-year-old fan living in Jakarta, Indonesia, said she regretted that Swift's closest stop by far was in Singapore. However, she believes it's the only spot in the region that has the capabilities and infrastructure that meet Swift's standards.

Lee while briefing the media on Tuesday also did not directly answer when asked if he had encountered bad blood among other leaders due to the deal, instead suggesting that if Singapore hadn't struck an exclusive deal, a neighboring country might have done so.

“It has turned out to be a very successful arrangement. I don't see that as being unfriendly,” he said.

What’s the catch?

But why are Singapore neighbours ruing about losing the chance to host Swift? It is mostly because the singer’s concerts would have brought huge financial gains to their economies.

According to a BBC report, Swift’s visit to Australia led to a $145 million rise in consumer spending with over 570,000 tickets being sold in Sydney and Melbourne in a span of seven days.

It is expected Swift’s concerts will give a similar uplift to Singapore’s economy, especially its tourism section with 70 per cent of concert-goers expected to come from out of town.

"Six concerts may not move a nation's economic growth materially, but the strategic value of Taylor Swift's endorsement of Singapore as a tourism destination outweighs that one-off boost," Maybank's economist Erica Tay told BBC.

Swift's representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.