LOTS OF SWIFTIES IN THE POLDER

'Fans are my biggest favorite thing on earth. I've never been an artist who draws a line between friends and fans. I hang out with them after the show and before the show'.

- Taylor Swift

Taylor's Tribe

American pop icon Taylor Swift is known for her ability to build a massive and dedicated tribe of fans: Taylors tribe. Exactly how many is hard to say. Research conducted in the United States in 2023 indicates that as many as 53% of all Americans consider themselves fans of hers. That's a total of 180 million people. About a fifth of those (36 million) can be counted among the group of true diehard superfans - also called "Swifties. What about in the Netherlands? Because it has never been researched, no data are known about that. With the three Dutch concerts of her successful 'Eras Tour' approaching, we decided to change that. Based on a sample of 2,014 respondents aged 18 and older, we made a first attempt to get a numerical picture of the Swifties in the Netherlands. Both similarities and differences with the aforementioned American research can be noted. Here is a summary of the main results.

Summary of the main results

Research among 2,014 Dutch respondents aged 18 and older shows that American pop icon Taylor Swift has a massive following here as well. Research among 2,014 Dutch respondents aged 18 and older shows that American pop icon Taylor Swift also has a massive following here.More than one in three Dutch people (36 percent) say they are fans of her. This amounts to 3.6 million fans. There, a majority of 53 percent say they are fans of her. Does that automatically make all Dutch fans Swifties?No, but 21 percent of fans count themselves among the loyal superfans.Converted into absolute numbers, that still amounts to 756,000 Swifties in our country. Their number has grown rapidly especially in recent years. Earlier, other pop artists such as Beyoncé, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Adele were much more popular in the Netherlands. Only since the past year and a half has Taylor Swift come to the top with us. Who are the Dutch Swifties? The survey shows that 90 percent of Swifties are women. Almost half (46 percent) of Swifties belong to "Gen Z," in the age group of 12 to 27.The percentage of "millennials" who go through life as a Swiftie is 21 percent (compared to 45 percent in the U.S.).Swifties, by the way, are an urban ('Randstad') phenomenon. The most fanatical fans live in the provinces of Utrecht, North Holland and South Holland. The exception that proves the rule is the province of Groningen where there are also quite a few Swifties.Provinces with the fewest Swifties are rural areas like Friesland and Zeeland. Why are Swifties fans?These are the three main reasons for being a fan of Taylor Swift: the musical quality of her songs, the playful search and decoding of "Easter eggs," and the layered and poetic quality of her lyrics.

What do fans find attractive about Taylor?The pop singer's personal qualities that most appeal to Swifties in the Netherlands have to do with her charisma as a successful pop artist, the fact that she is an accessible role model and the close contact she maintains with her fans.What are the favorite albums?Swifties' favorite albums are: 1989 (Taylor's Version), Folklore and the recently released album The Tortured Poets Department. Which fans will attend the concerts on July 4, 5 and 6? Spread over three days, some 90,000 "real" Swifties will attend the concerts in Amsterdam in early July. They will be joined by just under 60,000 'regular' fans.Remaining is a group of 40,000 people who do not consider themselves fans, but who have paid money generously to attend one of the three concerts.Perhaps the latter group also includes many Americans who followed their idol in Europe.

About 1 percent of Dutch Swifties (nearly 7,500 in absolute numbers) also travel after their idol in other European cities.Two Dutch Swifties are taking the crown: they have already attended thirteen concerts in Europe.And at least six more concerts will follow... How much does it cost to be a Swiftie? Actually, not that much.The most frequently mentioned activities - streaming music, unraveling "easter eggs," communicating about and following her on social media, watching videos by and about her - don't cost very much. Just under 50% of Swifties spend less than 100 euros annually on their idol.24% spend up to 250 euros annually.Things are different when visiting her upcoming concerts.Asked what Swifties expect to spend per person, 62 percent say they will spend between 250 and 500 euros, and 17 percent between 500 and 1,000.The really big spenders are way above that: 7 percent think they will spend a total of (much) more than 1,000 euros. With an average spending level of 408 euros, spending in the Netherlands is significantly lower than in the United Kingdom.There, the average fan spends no less than 1,000 euros on her or his idol.

Hans van der Loo is author of the bestseller Taylor Swift - The Rise of a Musical, Social and Business Phenomenon, published in Durch in april this year.

If you want to learn more about the survey results and gain insight into the differences between Swifties and regular fans, contact me starting July 2.

I will send you a more detailed survey report

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