Oft cited as the key to reviving Auckland’s mojo, another Taylor Swift concert is looking less and less likely. Chris Schulz lays it all out.
A version of this story was originally published on the Boiler Room Substack.
That feature photo above was taken at Mt Smart Stadium on November 9, 2018. In it, Taylor Swift is doing what she does best – performing live to a packed stadium of delirious fans. This was the last time Taylor Swift performed in Aotearoa. Despite embarking on the highest-grossing world tour ever since that show, Swift hasn’t returned to Aotearoa for a follow-up performance, a fact no one ever shuts up about.
That photo – and the accompanying phone videos from me and the other fans present – is as close as any of us are ever going to get to seeing Taylor Swift perform in Aotearoa again. She isn’t coming here. It’s just not happening. Things have shifted. Touring trends are moving away from us. The damage is done. Yet, over the past few weeks, all our esteemed leaders seem to do is argue over how to get Swift to bless us with her presence again. Why? Well, that’s going to take some unpacking.
If I said the phrase “bed levy” to you, would your eyes glaze over? Would you want to grab a fork and start stabbing yourself in the cheeks to ease the boredom? If your heart sinks when you hear that combination of words, well, mine does too. But bear with me. As terrible as it sounds, a bed levy could have a huge impact on anyone who adores seeing live music in Aotearoa.
A bed levy is a fee imposed on hotel bookings that is then pooled and used to entice major events to the region. Those events generate more hotel bookings, thus creating a circular economy. It’s commonly used overseas – you may have seen it on your receipts while travelling. Auckland mayor Wayne Brown wants one, and he wants it quickly. He’s campaigning for a 2.5% bed levy to help raise $27m a year. That, he says, will bring more events to Auckland and lift the city out of the doldrums. “If the industry wants more events here, they need to do their bit to support these events happening,” Brown said in May. A Taylor Swift show is often cited as the missing link.
Until recently, Brown’s pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Luxon has repeatedly given a flat “no” to Brown’s requests. The lack of incentives is one of the many things causing the toxic stew that has resulted in many major artists giving us a miss. Yet, as Amelia Wade reported for The Post this week, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited will soon run out of the limited events money it does have. If the government won’t approve a bed tax for the city, Wade cites a new council report that threatens to raise that money through further rates rises. No one likes rates rises, so that’s an extreme measure.
Making matters worse is that, in June, tourism and hospitality minister Louise Upston announced a $5m “boost” to help fund major events. This was designed to “support the attraction and delivery of major events with high potential to attract international visitors”. It’s the same thing Brown wants. Upston’s fund was offered to sports, arts and cultural events – with one glaring exception: music festivals and concerts. She told RNZ this: “[We] need to be realistic about whether concerts generate economic value for New Zealand … overall, the profit tends to go offshore.” I didn’t like this at all.
Until yesterday, that was the state of things. Then Luxon had a chat with Mike Hosking on Monday that made things even more confusing. He called on Upston, his own minister, to have a “total rethink” of her major events policy. So, to clarify this clusterfuck, we have Auckland Council pleading for help to entice major events to Auckland, and we have a government that can’t decide on what major events even are.
As that lot scraps over the best way to entice Taylor Swift to come here again (she won’t), Australia continues to enjoy an unprecedented live entertainment boom. It already has all of the policies in place that are needed to bring major events to the country. By now, I can recite the list of acts that haven’t bothered to come here verbatim. Instead of boring you with that, I’ll give you a single fact that illustrates this better than anything else can: this December, across just one week, Melbourne will enjoy more music festivals and stadium concerts than Auckland will get in the entirety of 2025.
In October, Taylor Swift releases her new album. Called The Life of a Showgirl, The Guardian has already declared her 12th record, one tipped to see her return to her pop roots, as likely to make her “hysterically famous at a new level”. What’s also likely is that we’ll see Swift announce new tour dates. Many are predicting that, after her arduous Eras world tour, she’ll choose to play a handful of select stadiums for multiple nights, or set up a residency in Las Vegas. That makes sense. Showgirl. Vegas. Geddit?
If we can’t entice the Gallagher brothers to join us on their Oasis nostalgia cash-grab circuit, we’re not going to be getting Taylor Swift. So many major acts have skipped Aotearoa on their world tours this year that I ran out of room while ranking them all. In recent weeks, Linkin Park, Dom Dolla, Addison Rae and Turnstile (who have since been announced on the bill for Rhythm and Vines) all added their names to the list. This isn’t a trend; it’s an overwhelming avalanche. Stopping it is going to take a co-ordinated, consolidated, multi-pronged approach. Australia is already miles ahead, with financial incentives, tax breaks and venue discounts all available for promoters of major international tours.
The results are obvious. It’s easy to see where we need to get to. The model is right there. To make Auckland relevant, to bring major shows back, to put us on the international touring circuit again, the first step is recognising the importance of major concerts and festivals. Pointing out the economic benefits they deliver for tourism and hospitality would be another crucial move. Luxon’s “total rethink” could yield results. Brown’s bed levy might help too. Rewording Upston’s major events boost to include concerts and festivals is a good idea.
Will any of this happen? Well, it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than sniping at each other in the media to turn things around. So, while we wait for something or nothing to happen, we may as well reminisce about Taylor Swift’s 2018 show together. Because no one’s getting the chance to see this for themselves any time soon.
