Beyonc , Taylor Swift, and the Soaring Popularity of Concert Films Ralph Jaccodine of Berklee's Music Business/Management Department delves into the recent concert film phenomenon and its future trajectory.
By
Tori Donahue
November 28, 2023
Taylor Swifts Eras Tour film was a blockbuster at the box office in October, setting the stage for a larger trend in the music and movie industries.
Photo by Getty Images
Ralph Jaccodine, assistant professor in the Music Business/Management Department at Berklee, has held various roles in the industry for over 30 years as a concert promoter, record label owner, concert director, and manager. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen, Kiss, Rush, Hall & Oates, and Foreigner, among other prominent artists over the years. These days, Jaccodine often finds himself in discussions about one artist in particular, Taylor Swift, sharing his insights on the economic impact of her record-breaking Eras Tour in interviews with Bloomberg, CNN, and other outlets.
On the heels of the blockbuster Eras Tour concert film, and right before Beyonc 's highly anticipated Renaissance World Tour hits theaters on December 1, we talked to Jaccodine about how these movies are setting a trend that the industry will likely see for years to come.
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour film was a blockbuster and Beyonc 's Renaissance World Tour film is on track to do similar damage at the box office. Is there anything specific about this moment in time that is driving up the appeal of these types of movies?There's few artists that can propel the economy of a market like Taylor Swift. It's similar when Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen tour, but this is bigger and it's more deeply rooted in families and multiple generations. People are taking vacations and traveling to see artists like Taylor Swift and Beyonc . The thing I like about the movie idea is that a lot of the movies are going to independent film houses that are community-based, and that's intentional. It's helping the theaters out a lot. It doesn't cost that much money to go to see a concert film, and you don't have to pay for parking and a hotel like a tour performance. People who can't get around or are possibly too old or too young to go to a show-this provides an accessible way to see these artists perform. At a Taylor Swift or Beyonc or Woodstock movie, you're with a tribe.
Can you describe the novelty of experiencing a concert film in a theater versus an on-demand streaming platform like Netflix?It's very simple-the energy is there. You're with people who love the music and love the art. When you're in a group of 65,000 people united by music at a stadium, it is religious and it is everything good about life. It's a really powerful experience. And that does translate to movies, especially niche moves like if you're a horror film person or if you're a U2 fan or something like that-you're with your people. And it's a beautiful experience. These films are interactive and ideal for fan engagement.
Describe the deals that artists and movie distributors negotiate to make these kinds of films possible. It's a whole different kind of economic factor in that you're not dealing with major ticketing platforms, you're dealing with theaters and chains directly and you have more leverage. AMC will benefit from these films just like independent theaters. This also gives the artist a chance to negotiate, because you know the theaters are going to make money on concessions and the idea that folks will come back in the future. There's a whole generation of people-maybe even two, because of Covid-who aren't going to movie theaters, and the young kids don't know about that experience and it gets people back into the space, yielding more customers who will see more movies.
Between the Beyonc and Taylor Swift concert films and the rerelease of Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense in theaters, is this now a trend? Do you expect to see this from other artists in the future?I think it's going to happen all the time now. A lot of artists and their fans are also very conscious of climate change. For the environment and sustainability, it's a historical document that will live on. You don't need people to drive hundreds of miles to access it. What we're seeing is that there will be future concert films of artists who have passed away-that is how estates will make money and continue to get the music out there. With virtual reality and augmented reality, these technologies make these concerts very immersive and unbelievably realistic, and that is technology that's happening right now.
Do you see any particular advantages or drawbacks of these films in terms of their impact on the movie or film industry itself?Artists should be doing this-the idea of when they come to town, they soak up a lot of money. That means possibly the smaller clubs or smaller bands . . . may get hurt. But I think, all in all, if Taylor Swift is how people are raising their kids and they see a concert, that means they like music. And if they like Taylor Swift, they might like Dolly Parton or . . . Ed Sheeran. I think it's good for music. It gets people out seeing the beauty of live music, and technology and AI and augmented reality are going to change that. The idea is to get people away from their screens to see music and buy music. I love the fact that people are going to movie theaters for a great experience. It's a brave new world and we should be talking about this.
Related Categories
Keyed In
News
Most Popular
Elena Pinderhughes
Image courtesy of the artist
Berklee Announces 2023 Fall Signature Series Lineup This years series will feature Elena Pinderhughes, Braxton Cook, Pavel N ez, and the Pletenitsa Balkan Choir, as wel
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
02/06/2026
Powerful new vocal-production tool announced
Described as a vocal performance station , Klevgrand's latest plug-in combines pitch-correction with harmo...
02/06/2026
Launched alongside Go Green sale extension
McDSP have just released the latest addition to their APB line-up, DC-2 Dual Compressor, and have also announced ...
02/06/2026
Create custom tools for Ableton Live 12 Suite
Ableton have just introduced a new open JavaScript toolkit that allows anyone to create their own custom tools...
02/06/2026
Now features full H90 algorithm library
Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...
02/06/2026
Plus UAD Half Yearly Sale now live
The latest arrival to the Universal Audio range delivers a new native pitch-correction plug-in that's capable of deli...
02/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to present comprehensive performance, conformance and spectrum-m...
02/06/2026
BTL Laboratory becomes Taiwan's first test house with a CTIA Certification c...
02/06/2026
blueCORE standalone processors headline solutions designed to simplify the trans...
02/06/2026
If you've kept up with this article series, you know by now where to start w...
02/06/2026
With new DSP configurations and flexible licensing options, Calrec is removing the barriers to virtualised audio, giving broadcasters the freedom to scale produ...
02/06/2026
The TV agency was one of the earliest adopters of Nielsen's local television...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Grass Valley today announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP to transform its newsroom produc...
02/06/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, announces its new Model 385 Mic/Intercom Beltpack. The Mode...
02/06/2026
The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 2...
02/06/2026
More signals, higher quality, and outstanding ingest and streaming flexibility deliver professional results in a small, all-in-one footprint...
02/06/2026
farmerswife will be featured on the Modena Media & Entertainment stand at this year's Mediatech Africa 2026, giving visitors an opportunity to explore the l...
02/06/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17 19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/06/2026
Wuppertal June 2, 2026
Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel N...
02/06/2026
Back to All News
Discover Your Next Book-to-Screen Obsession With Our New Dedicated Hub
Product
02 June 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Dear most vor...
02/06/2026
New LinkedIn Data: 90% of C-Suite Leaders are Continuously Building Skills to Lead in the AI Era Published on Jun 2, 2026 Categories: Data and insights
Lin...
02/06/2026
Trust has become a commercial issue With global advertising spend forecast to exceed US$1 trillion this year*, the commercial consequences of weak governance co...
02/06/2026
June sees Ireland's cultural calendar in full bloom, as RT Supporting the Arts showcases a vibrant and wide-ranging programme spanning music, theatre, visu...
02/06/2026
After The Traitors Ireland launched in 2025, Irish audiences proved to have a taste for the global hit reality show. This Bank Holiday Monday fans can indulge e...
01/06/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
01/06/2026
Designed to solve a common problem in broadcasting, the automated workflow detects, identifies, removes, and documents copyrighted music
AudioShake has introdu...
01/06/2026
The sports-analytics company combines its data with proprietary AI to help leagu...
01/06/2026
Category line-up & sponsors announced
Photo: Paul Clarke
The Production Music Awards (PMA) have announced that submissions are now officially open ahead of...
01/06/2026
New hybrid sample/synthesis instrument revealed
Excite Audio have just released the latest instalment in their Evolve series, which has been developed in co...
01/06/2026
Latest TONEX expansion captures three rare vintage amps
The newest addition to IK Multimedia's ever-growing TONEX line-up introduces a set of three incr...
01/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
01/06/2026
SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026
1 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has secured Hyundai, Hisense, Macca's, Rexona, bet365, Com...
01/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to ...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Marshall Electronics is showcasing a comprehensive lineup of next-generation POV cameras, purpose-built to power today's connected AV environments, at InfoC...
01/06/2026
Adobe Announces Concept to Vector
Deepa Subramaniam June 1, 2026
0 Comments
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from designers is how difficult it...
01/06/2026
Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton June 1, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist shapes dark, gritty tone for horror thri...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Beyonc , Taylor Swift, and the Soaring Popularity of Concert Films Ralph Jaccodine of Berklee's Music Business/Management Department delves into the recent concert film phenomenon and its future trajectory.
