Swifties live-streaming Eras Tour concerts say they’re part of a ‘community’

By David Friend, The Canadian Press on November 23, 2024.

Taylor Swift performs during the opening show of the Toronto dates of The Eras Tour on Thursday, November 14, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO – Live streams of Taylor Swift’s sold-out Eras Tour concerts in Toronto give devoted fans a window into the spectacle of outfits, surprise songs and elaborate stages from one of the biggest cultural events in recent memory.

As the massive tour inches toward its final three shows in Vancouver early next month, feeding Swifties’ insatiable appetite has become a nightly tradition for a handful of live stream hosts based all over the world.

They act as ringleaders for tens of thousands of viewers witnessing Swift’s constantly evolving show through unofficial channels.

“I never saw it being as big as it is,” said Tess Bohne, one of the personalities credited as a pioneer of the Swift live streams.

“There is a big idea of community (and) being present without being there.”

Broadcasting unauthorized concert live streams on social platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook isn’t an entirely new phenomenon, but it’s one that’s been amplified with Swift’s tour.

As their popularity grows, the streams are sparking conversations about copyright law and the delicate balance between protecting intellectual property and allowing listeners to embrace their fandom.

“We’ve gone beyond art being a one-way conversation from the artist to the audience,” said Jay Kerr-Wilson, an IP lawyer and co-leader of Fasken’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications Group in Ottawa.

“Copyright owners, generally speaking, are being more flexible and they’re not necessarily (thinking) black-and-white.”

Representatives for the singer did not respond to requests for comment.

For fans, the lines are already blurred.

Bohne got wrapped up in the Swift live-streaming phenomenon nearly two years ago after she attended the second night of the Eras Tour, in Glendale, Ariz., and found herself consumed by the experience for days afterward.

“(Often) you go to a concert and you’re like, “˜That was great, let’s move on with my life,'” the 33-year-old explained in a video call from Salt Lake City.

“But there was something different. It was like, “˜No, that wasn’t enough. I’m not done.'”

Eager to relive the high she felt, Bohne chased down the TikTok profiles of fellow Swifties streaming other stops on the tour.

With little technical experience, she began rebroadcasting their videos, with credit, on her own TikTok profile. She would place an iPad playing their feed in front of her phone’s camera, and then swap it out with her other iPad when she found a user with a better angle of the concert.

The crude setup initially drew a few thousand viewers, she said, and with more effort put into the productionher audience has grown to 100,000 to 200,000 during peak moments.

Since her initial broadcast, Bohne estimates she’s streamed more than 110 of Swift’s concerts in a split-screen format, streaming the concert in one corner and munching on snacks in the other while discussing all things Swift with a chat room of strangers.

Some fans donate cash, and her social media status has helped attract influencer partnerships. But the stay-at-home mom of three children said this is primarily a labour of love.

Bohne is credited by many of her contemporaries as the one who inspired them to take a shot at hosting their own Eras Tour with live commentary.

“A lot of people say it’s like religion for them,” explained Lucas Chalub, a Twitch streamer and longtime Swiftie.

Chalub first experimented with hosting streams in August 2023. Rumours swirled that the singer might announce the release date for one of her re-recorded albums on stage in Los Angeles, so many Swifties sought out live feeds, which included his impromptu setup that night.

“A lot of people joined,” remembered the 27-year-old sports journalist from Argentina.

“That’s the first night that I said, ‘Why not do this every night?'”

Chalub said he usually draws on streams from 10 to 15 concertgoers who are often aware their recordings might get picked up by the streaming hosts. Many bring power banks to recharge their devices and sometimes a backup phone.

“We are not the heroes that people think we are,” Chalub added of his fellow streamers, crediting fans on the ground who do their work pro bono.

“The real heroes are the people in the venue spending – or wasting – their time trying to live stream for us instead of enjoying the show.”

The legality around live streaming Swift’s concerts is murky.

In the simplest terms, the rebroadcasting of copyrighted music without a licence isn’t allowed, and platforms such as YouTube and TikTok have sometimes shut down live feeds mid-stream at the behest of record labels.

It happened to Ammir Shar, a 25-year-old streamer from Blackpool, U.K., who saw his YouTube feed for the fourth Toronto concert yanked down while the show was in progress.

Hosts say they worry about racking up too many takedown notices, which can risk permanently shutting down their channels. Usually after a live stream ends, they delete the footage from platforms like YouTube.

However, they say attempts to silence them won’t amount to much. When one streamer falls, sometimes two others turn up.

Copyright owners are still grappling with that perspective, especially when unsanctioned live streams can impact other financial stakes, said Kerr-Wilson.

In Swift’s case, she sold the streaming rights to her “The Eras Tour” film to Disney Plus for US$75 million. Arguably, the lawyer suggested, a company might take issue with similar options on the market, such as a live stream. But even that seems to be an evolving conversation.

“People have realized that social media and user-generated content isn’t the enemy, and, in fact, can be a powerful way to engage with fans and to be part of the conversation,” he said.

“I think the trend is going to continue.”

While Swift hasn’t publicly said much about the streams, several streamers believe she is aware of them. They also argue the vast majority of people tuning into their feeds already have an investment in Swift’s success.

Last November, a group of technologically savvy Swifties launched Swift Alert, a phone app that sends out alerts for the highlights of each Eras Tour show.

Inside the app, the creators also launched a game called Mastermind – named after a Swift song, of course – where fans can win prizes by guessing which of Swift’s rotating selection of outfits she’ll wear for each “era” of her performance.

Using Swift Alert in tandem with the live streams, many fans tune in for the standout moments of the three-hour concert.

“A lot of people compare it to fantasy football,” Shah said.

“This kind of stuff brings us closer together.”

With the Eras Tour set to end in Vancouver on Dec. 8, many live streamers say they’re uncertain how the future looks.

Recently, Bohne experimented with a live stream from pop singer Meghan Trainor’s concert to see if there’s similar interest. While it was enjoyable, she said the experience wasn’t quite the same.

Others have started streaming Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet Tour. They say her shows are closest to Swift’s because Carpenter is a natural at witty banter, performs nightly surprise songs and changes up her outfits.

“I’ve considered doing a few other (musicians, but they) are more like normal concerts – the artist on the stage with a microphone in one outfit, just singing their songs,” said Shah.

“It’s not something that people at home will be like, ‘What outfit is she going to wear?'”

Some wonder how live streaming will look without the intrigue of Swift’s tour.