By iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137551448
The problem with Taylor Swift has very little to do with Taylor Swift. I have great admiration for her. She is an exceptionally talented artist with a good heart and a publicity team that never makes an error. On a personal level, she deserves whatever fortune she makes.
If you’re lucky (or rich) enough to see her show, you’ll have a wonderful time. If you’re a city lucky (or big) enough to host her show, some of your businesses are going to rake in a fortune.
And There’s the Problem
Some of the businesses. It all depends on your point of view. Looked at from the top, it’s a windfall. Looked at from the lower layers of the entertainment business, there are a whole lot of potential customers who have blown their month’s (or year’s) entertainment budget, and they’re going to be staying home for a long time while they catch up.
The Arts
And let’s not blame it on the star system, social media, or all the other usual scapegoats. The art world is probably worse. Every time somebody blows tens of millions of dollars on a Monet or a Picasso, there are hundreds of poorer artists who are turning out good work that won’t sell because the money went further up the food chain. (Sorry about the mangled metaphor, but you get the picture.)
Business
There is also a trend in the upper end of the business world. Companies that made their mark providing a service and treating their customers well are bought out by conglomerates whose only objective is to service their shareholders. They swap multi-million-dollar companies like sports trading cards. None of this is good for the consumer or the local economy.
The Bottom Line
Money doesn’t trickle down in this economy. It gushes up, and an increasingly small number of people get an increasingly large share of the pie.
But it’s in the power of the consumer to change this. Buy local, buy small. Support proprietors and artists that treat you well. Don’t let yourself be used as a commodity.
Linda and I developed a habit during the COVID lockdown, when the only prepared food available was pickup. Now we go out every Thursday night to a small local restaurant. We cycle through them, hitting one about every six weeks. We get to know the food and the servers, and it makes for a more pleasant evening all round.
Globalization may sound good, but who is it good for?