Taylor Swift recently made headlines after displaying an extraordinary gesture of generosity, one which others in the entertainment industry—and beyond—could learn from.
In the middle of her The Eras Tour, which just wrapped its first U.S. leg and is headed to Central America very soon, Swift gave everyone who works on the venture a bonus. But these weren’t your typical bonuses. She reportedly handed out an astonishing $55 million in gifts, including $100,000 for each truck driver who brings the production from city to city. That’s a “life-changing” sum for people who may make that much in a year, and some from her touring crew spoke out thanking her publicly.
In another part of the entertainment world, times are especially tough for creative people. Both movies and TV shows are almost completely halted because writers and actors are on strike against the major studios and streaming companies. Those who actually write and star in the shows and films that entertain the world are asking for better treatment, including a say in how AI is used, more money and fair compensation through residuals, among other things.
On the other side, the big shots in the business are not willing to give in on many points, leaving the money unevenly distributed. They have their reasons as well, but ultimately, the situation is not looking good, and those in power are not winning the PR wars, as they come out appearing to be the bad guy—and if you ask many in Los Angeles, it’s because they are.
Some folks in the movie and TV industries argue that there just isn’t enough money to go around, which makes it hard to pay actors and writers more, even if they’re struggling to make ends meet. The argument often comes down to the wealthiest people—like top actors, big directors and executives at companies like NetflixNFLX and Disney—being seen as greedy, with some of them worth hundreds of millions, while writers are struggling to pay their rent.
A CEO who brought home tens of millions and who runs a conglomerate with billions complaining that there simply isn’t enough money to pay writers a few extra dollars isn’t a great way to win over the masses and come out of the situation looking benevolent.
This is where Swift’s actions can teach those in power a lesson. She’s at the very top of the music world, the most successful artist in the world, and one of the bestselling of all time and the driving force behind The Eras Tour. While she’s a main reason for its success, she also knows it’s not all about her.
Swift realizes that her current success is thanks to a lot of people working hard behind the scenes. But she didn’t just say thank you. She showed her appreciation in the most practical way possible: with money. She recognized how much everyone’s efforts contributed to the tour’s incredible production values, rave reviews and historic box office sums, and, considering the immense revenue, decided to share the wealth instead of taking it all for herself.
Swift’s The Eras Tour is expected to earn over $1 billion in ticket sales by the time it’s all done, with a large chunk of that—maybe half—going right to her. And it should! People aren’t paying to see a road hand or a truck driver, but she’s very aware of their importance.
Those who have the power to resolve the Hollywood strike might want to consider what Swift has done. Her generous actions not only made everyone happy and earned her some well-deserved good will among millions, but those bonuses will surely continue to ensure that her money-printing venture goes well from here on out.
While $55 million is a huge sum of money, it is also only a relatively small figure compared to what The Eras Tour is bringing in. In fact, it may be only 10% of what she earns, or maybe 5% (or less!) of the trek’s total box office pull. Could a similar move help put thousands of actors and writers back to work and bring an unfortunate dispute to an end? It’s something worth thinking about.
