How Much Dancers & Crew Got

Taylor Swift has once again demonstrated her generosity towards her tour staff, as highlighted in her new docuseries, The End of an Era.

The second episode of the Disney+ series, released on December 12, showcases Swift preparing personalized bonuses for her dancers. The Grammy-winning artist shared that she wrote individual notes for each employee and spent “a couple weeks” sealing each envelope with wax.

“Bonus day is crucial because setting a precedent with The Eras Tour is significant to me,” Swift stated. “If the tour grosses more, those on the road receive a larger bonus. These individuals work tirelessly and are exceptional at what they do. Writing the notes and thinking about their lives is enjoyable… making it worthwhile for them feels like Christmas morning when you can finally say thank you.”

While the exact amounts remain undisclosed in the docuseries, reports suggest Swift distributed tens of millions of dollars throughout the nearly two-year tour.

Here’s a breakdown of what we know about her Eras Tour bonuses.

Though the exact earnings for Swift are not specified, the 149-date tour grossed over $2 billion in ticket sales, according to The New York Times. This figure, confirmed by Swift’s production company, does not include merchandise sales or the box-office revenue from her film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which earned $261 million globally, as noted by Box Office Mojo.

The tour’s immense success reportedly elevated Swift to billionaire status, with Forbes estimating her net worth at $1.6 billion by 2025.

In December, Swift humorously told Stephen Colbert that she used her Eras Tour earnings to repurchase her music masters, revealing a $360 million payment to Shamrock Holdings.

Specific salary details for Swift’s dancers are not available, but the Dancers Alliance suggests preferred industry rates of $465 for eight hours of rehearsal and a minimum of $2,730 per week on tour.

Ben Clark, a banjo player who worked with Swift early in her career, remarked that she has always paid her performers well. “Offering a salary as a new artist is very rare,” he noted. “It’s almost unheard of, but that’s how they operated and took care of us band members.”

In a heartfelt moment from The End of the Era, dancer Kameron Saunders reads his bonus letter, where the amount is redacted. However, the joy among the dancers is evident as many are moved to tears upon receiving the news. Saunders laughs as he reads, “Dearest Kam, we’ve traveled the world like we set out to do…here’s [redacted] dollars just to say thanks. Love, Taylor.”

Production assistant Max Holmes humorously exclaimed, “I’m gonna pass out” after learning about his bonus.

Fans online are speculating, with some guessing the bonus could be around $750,000, while others think it might be $130,000, a nod to Swift’s lucky number, 13.

Following the first North American leg of the tour in August 2023, Swift gave each of her nearly 50-member trucking crew $100,000. Michael Scherkenbach, founder of the Shomotion trucking company, described this generous amount as “unbelievable,” considering the typical bonus ranges from $5,000 to $10,000.

Scherkenbach recounted the drivers’ reactions: “One thought it said $1,000, another saw $10,000, and the third said, ‘Well, this has to be a joke!’”

According to The End of an Era, Swift awarded bonuses to every dancer, musician, and crew member at the conclusion of each tour leg. With five main legs of the tour — North America, South America, Asia/Australia, Europe, and a second North American leg — reports indicated Swift had already distributed over $55 million in bonuses by the tour’s end in 2023.

While the total number of crew members is unclear, estimates suggest around 1,000 individuals contributed to bringing The Eras Tour to life, including 15 dancers, 50 truck drivers, six musicians, and four backup vocalists. A scene in the docuseries shows the crew needing at least one large duffel bag to transport all the bonus envelopes.

In December 2024, People confirmed that Swift disbursed a staggering total of $197 million in bonuses, including to truck drivers, caterers, instrument techs, merch teams, lighting specialists, and more.