TSwift Lift: Elon Musk tries to woo Taylor Swift to boost traffic on X, wants to stream ‘The Eras Tour’

When Taylor Swift visits a city for a tour, her impact on the local economy shoots up. This phenomenon, even has a name, and is referred to as the “TSwift Lift.” Even the US Federal Reserve has taken notice and incorporated it into its studies on the economic effects of her concerts. Elon Musk also hopes that he can replicate the TSwift Lift, but on his platform X.

In a surprising turn of events, Elon Musk, has reached out to Swift for assistance in revitalizing his platform. Musk, who acquired Twitter’s parent company for $44 billion almost a year ago, responded to Swift’s post about new tracks from her re-recorded 1989 album, addressing her 94 million followers.

Swift’s Era tour is expected to be the first to break the $1 billion mark in ticket sales and could result in nearly $5 billion in total spending. Fans are willing to shell out more than $1,300 each for the privilege of attending her live performances.

Musk suggested, “I recommend sharing some music or concert videos directly on the X platform.” He recently celebrated the exclusive debut of Tucker Carlson’s new show on the platform.

Musk has faced challenges with X, including controversies involving conspiracy theories and positions favoured by the alt-right, resulting in a 60 per cent decline in US advertisers.

Consequently, X fell short of its goal to achieve cashflow break-even in the second quarter, and despite laying off 80 per cent of its workforce, it continues to deplete its cash reserves.

Musk also recently announced plans to introduce a new monthly fee to combat bot farms that deter advertisers from reaching real consumers.

Bluesky, a new competitor platform supported by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, attracted a record number of users after Musk’s fee announcement.

Musk later clarified that he intended to introduce a new, lower-priced subscription tier below the existing $8 per month premium subscription but did not provide details on the benefits users would receive for “a few dollars” a month.

While Musk sought Swift’s assistance in boosting his platform, Swift did not respond to his request. Given Swift’s track record of generating prosperity wherever she goes, it’s probable that Musk’s financially struggling platform needs her more than she needs it.

Additionally, Musk’s well-publicized friendship with Kanye West, who has had public disagreements with Swift, could pose a challenge in itself. Musk claimed to have more monthly users than ever, with 550 million on X, surpassing Twitter’s last reported figure as a publicly traded company by more than twice.