Taylor Swift, Beyonce juice 3Q GDP

U.S. consumers treated themselves this summer, scooping up concert tickets to likes of Taylor Swift and Beyonce, singing and dancing to sold-out shows, while also driving record numbers for U.S. air travel. 

Gross domestic product (GDP), came in at 4.9%, way above the 4.3% to 4.5% estimates and more than double the second-quarter’s 2.1% read. 

"It’s all the kind of revenge spending post-pandemic, which is especially concentrated in the service sector. Of course, you know, the poster child of that this summer is, of course, Taylor Swift," Carl Riccadonna, chief U.S. economist at BNP Paribas told FOX Business ahead of the data. "It was other concerts. It was sporting events, it was very strong, what we'll call discretionary service spending from hotels, Las Vegas trips, air travel and all these sorts of things" he added.  

Swift’s Eras Tour ranked at #1 raking in $780 million, according to Forbes list by gross. Ticket prices rocketed to over $1,000 for some shows on demand from Swifties. 

Other high-profile performers also pulled in big bucks, including Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour $460 million.