How Much Did Taylor Swift Give Her Eras Tour Dancers in Bonuses? Inside the ‘Exceptional’ Amount That Made the Crew Cry
Taylor Swift‘s new Disney+ documentary takes us behind the scenes of what it takes to execute a behemoth of a tour. The Eras Tour wouldn’t be what it was without the help of the crew to make the magic happen on stage, and the singer gave out generous gifts to everyone who was involved.
“Bonus day is so important because setting a precedent with the Eras Tour is really important to me because people who work on the road, if the tour grosses more, they get more of a bonus, and these people just work so hard, and they are the best at what they do,” the Tortured Poets Department singer said in the second episode of The End of an Era. In December 2024, it was reported that she gave her crew $197 million in bonuses.
She’s also seen handwriting and wax sealing letters with love. “It’s fun to write the notes. It’s fun to think about everybody’s lives that they’re gonna go back to and the time off they’re gonna have and the kids they haven’t seen because they’ve been away for months, and just making that worthwhile for them is really — it feels like Christmas morning when you finally get to say thank you.”
In one of the scenes, dancer Kameron Saunders reads the bonus letter addressed to all the background dancers. “Dearest Kam, we’ve traveled the world like we set out to do,” Saunders reads“We’ve dazzled the crowds but we’ve missed family too. My full gratitude doesn’t come from a bank, but here’s [redacted] dollars just to say thanks. Love, Taylor.” Some of the dancers who listened break down in tears, so how much did she pay them?
How much did Taylor Swift pay her dancers in bonuses?
While an exact number hasn’t been confirmed, some Swifties on X estimate that she gave her dancers $750,000 after her European leg. The dancers reportedly earned $1,200 to $2,500 per show, which would end up as a total salary of $178,800 to $372,500 each dancer.
@markppg, the father of dancer Kevin Scheitzbach, posted a video about how giving out bonuses to professional dancers on tour is often times rare and that Taylor’s act of generosity was beyond industry standard. “On Taylor’s side, people say there’s no ethical billionaire, but the way she treats her people is exceptional.”
How much did Taylor Swift pay her production crew in bonuses?
While an exact amount for the production crew’s bonuses hasn’t been confirmed, production assistant Max Holmes says, “I’m gonna pass out.”
How much did Taylor Swift pay the truck drivers?
During the early North American leg of the Eras Tour, her truck drivers were given $100,000 in bonuses. Michael Scherkenbach, founder and CEO of Denver, Colorado-based Shomotion trucking company, told CNN, “The drivers didn’t want to be overly rude and look at it. But one looked and thought it said $1,000, another driver saw it as $10,000 and then the third said ‘Well this has to be a joke!’”
