MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
After more than 149 shows across five continents, Taylor Swift will mark the end of an era.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TAYLOR SWIFT: It is an honor and a delight to say these words to you - welcome to the Eras Tour.
(CHEERING)
MARTIN: She'll wrap it up in Vancouver, Canada, over the weekend, after nearly two years on the road.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The tour cemented Swift as a generational force. Her concerts lasted more than three hours. Sold-out crowds paid top dollar to hear her and sing along to their favorites.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SWIFT: Does anyone here know the lyrics to this bridge?
(CHEERING)
SWIFT: Prove it.
(Singing) I'm drunk in the back of the car.
MARTIN: Bryan West has seen the tour more than 100 times, both in person and on a livestream. I mean, he has to. It's his job. He's The Tennessean newspaper's first-ever Taylor Swift reporter.
BRYAN WEST: I'm going to miss probably the most just talking with fans and getting to meet them. I'm also going to miss being inside of the stadium, watching the wristbands glow.
FADEL: Swift captivated audiences by dedicating surprise songs to fans and bringing special guests onstage along the way.
WEST: She has really been such a mastermind with keeping people guessing and keeping the show fresh for two years.
MARTIN: The tour has grossed more than $1 billion. Beyond ticket sales, it's spurred a record-breaking movie and, most recently, a book.
FADEL: It's also been boom times for the hospitality industry. Caleb Silver is the editor-in-chief of Investopedia, an investing in finance education website.
CALEB SILVER: Just think about just the local community ecosystems around these concerts, all the hotels, all the restaurants in town, all the cab drivers and the Uber drivers that are taking people to and from the airport and the venue, all the merchandise that's being sold. So the ripple effect can be pretty dramatic and add up to a lot of dollars for these cities.
MARTIN: Silver says that the music industry has also been paying attention.
SILVER: For artists, being on tour is really the only way they can keep most of the money that they make. When they sell albums or songs are being streamed on streaming services, they get fractions of the dollar off of those streams. But when you go on tour, you keep a lot more of the money as an artist. And I think they see that as a path to creating more economic impact for themselves.
FADEL: Other musicians will likely try to replicate Taylor Swift's success - a tough act to follow. Here's Bryan West from The Tennessean again.
WEST: If I was to sum up the Eras Tour, I would say it is now the new benchmark of greatness when it comes to concerts and the concert experience.
MARTIN: No, Leila, you're the benchmark of greatness.
FADEL: (Laughter) No, you are.
MARTIN: No, you.
FADEL: You.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG "KARMA")
SWIFT: (Singing) I keep my side of the street... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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