CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Taylor Swift has three shows in Chicago this weekend and one expert said the concert tour is a money machine.
Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour arrives in Chicago this weekend. Former MTV President Michael Wolf told the WBBM Noon Business Hour that Swift will make nine figures once the tour is over.
"The Eras Tour is about 52 shows. By any estimate it's going to be $1.4 to 1.5 billion in gross revenue," he said.
The Taylor Swift tour is also a moneymaker for restaurants, hotels, parking garages, and people selling concert tickets on the secondary market.
Wolf added that Beyonce's upcoming Renaissance tour could generate $2 billion in revenue. He said concert tours are another sector that will benefit from pent-up COVID demand.
"There's a tremendous interest. People are very hungry to get out of their houses. They want to go see these tours, they want to be with other people," Wolf said. "They want to buy the merchandise even if they can't afford the ticket."
The lines for Taylor Swift early merch at Soldier Field have been fluctuating. Swifties were seen singing their favorite Taylor Swift songs, an overall cheerful experience in the early merch line with waits ranging from just over an hour to just three minutes at some points.
"We drove like an hour. We're like we're gonna prepare to camp out," said one Swiftie.
Another Swiftie Molly Calvert told WBBM that shiny homemade outfits are the norm. Swifties also bring a little bit of their own currency to the show in the form of friendship bracelets.
Brandon Ison contributed to this report.
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