His fans number in the millions and there are thousands -and from all over the world- who are willing to pay anything to go to his concerts. The world’s top artists can affect a country’s CPI numbers. It’s no joke, Beyoncé, one of the highest paid artists in history, just did it with inflation in the UK and Sweden.
The singer kicked off her Renaissance World Tour in Stockholm last month. The two concerts that the pop star gave in the city in May led to less containment of the CPI in Sweden, according to illustrated Michael Grahn, chief economist at Danske Bank. His hypothesis is based on the fact that the 80,000 attendees at their shows raised the average price of hotel rooms and hospitality during that weekend.
But it is not the only time that the artist has appeared in recent weeks linked to price control problems in Europe. In May Beyoncé gave five concerts in the United Kingdom. These concerts would also have affected inflation in that country. UK leisure and culture prices rose 6.8% between January and May 2023, their biggest rise in 30 years, with the biggest effect from cultural services,”in particular tickets to live music events“
Event prices in UK inflation data are based on when the shows take place, not when you buy tickets. But with different artists performing each month, it’s hard to compare one with the other, a spokesman for the Office for National Statistics told Reuters.
“The (subjective) quality of music artists highlights how difficult it is to calculate a ‘clean’ price rise,” Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, told the same agency. “And for UK inflation, the pressures may persist,” he added, noting a UK concert series by singer Harry Styles in June.