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This Week in AsiaLifestyle & Culture

‘Smart’ move: Singapore’s grant for Taylor Swift concerts earns praise and brickbats from fans

  • The grant is not enough for Singapore to clinch its exclusive deal with Taylor Swift as stability and infrastructure also matter, analysts say
  • Others highlight ‘risk’ because of potential no-show from stars, with Messi football furore in Hong Kong still fresh

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Singer Taylor Swift performs at her concert for the international “The Eras Tour” in Tokyo on February 7. Photo: Reuters
Kimberly Lim
Singapore’s decision to pay American pop star Taylor Swift a grant to perform in the city state allegedly on an exclusivity clause has divided online users, with some regional fans upset they will not be able to catch their favourite singer while others praised the government for being “smart”.

Observers who spoke to This Week in Asia said such grants were likely to be given out based on investment returns, although these came with inherent “risks” such as no-shows by stars. They added that other factors, such as infrastructure, stability of the country and connectivity, also weighed in the minds of concert organisers.

The saga was sparked after Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin claimed the Singapore government paid Swift 100 million baht (US$2.8 million) per show, supposedly on the condition that she would make the city state the only stop on the Southeast Asian leg of her tour next month.

“[AEG, the concert promoter] didn’t tell me the exact figure, but they said the Singapore government offers subsidies of between US$2 million and US$3 million,” Srettha told a business forum in Bangkok last Friday, according to a report by The Guardian.

“But the Singaporean government is clever. They told [organisers] not to hold any other shows in [Southeast] Asia.”

He has since vowed to attract top performers to Thailand, with a range of new measures in the pipelines.

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