Article: Most of today's flights to Sydney are sold out due to Taylor Swift

[CaptJCool]

As long as they’re not
“Pulling a Swifty”

PS Apparently it’s $100 million in concert receipts of which most of it is flying out ….

 

[jase05]

I actually suspect there’s not a lot of difference (in terms of age) between the Tay Tay demographic now, and The Beatles’ demographic by the late 70’s.

I guess the difference is that the Beatles still resonate with a huge amount of people and have stood the test of time. I still don’t go much more than a week or so between listening to one of their albums. I do love all genres of music but I’d love to know if in say 30-40 years people are still listening to some of these modern artists or not.
Not a fan of her music and I’m not her target demographic but no denying she is a great marketer and good at her job

 

[Berlin]

Exactly, that is just common sense.

Common, common sense? We’re talking about Taylor Swift fans here…

 

[Lynda2475]

Beatles still resonate with a huge amount of people and have stood the test of time

Research show that for most people the music that you connect with from ages 10-25 (approx) is what stays a nostalgic favorite for the rest of your life.

The Beatles first single was released in 1962, so they have a 44 year head start on Tay Tay whose first single came out in 2006; lets see how Tay Tay is doing in 2050.

For those who slam pop music (and rock n roll is pop music just from an earlier time) consider how is the Beatles earlier stuff any better? IMO there is nothing great about the lyrics in songs like Love Me Do, She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand and they all have far more repetition than most pop songs. Aint She Sweet is twee. Octopus' Garden and Yellow Submarine are akin to the Wiggles (yes we were made to learn these in Kindergarten). I dont mind Hey Jude and St Peppers but mostly don't see the fuss about the Beatles, but then again they were broken up before I was born.

I have pretty broad tastes loving specific artists that fall into classical, musical theatre, rock, blues, heavy metal, new wave, indie, hip hop, reggae, country and yes Pop.

If I had to choose 100 albums today as the only music I could listen to for the rest of my life, neither Tay Tay nor the Beatles would make the grade. But for plenty under 35s I'm sure their top 100 would include every Tay Tay album, just like plenty of over 60s would heavily feature the Beatles.

Common, common sense? We’re talking about Taylor Swift fans here…

So you have a low opinion of the majority of young people? I know plenty of very intelligent young people with loads of common sense that are also Swifties. Just like I know older people with no common sense who may like bands that you do.

There are sensible folk and clueless people in all age groups.

 

[Forg]

For those who slam pop music (and rock n roll is pop music just from an earlier time) consider how is the Beatles earlier stuff any better?

There’s probably a massively strong argument for originality there.

Meh, I like what I like, and others don’t like it.
I want to have some sort of emotional reaction to music, anything else is just background. Just because Tay Tay’s stuff can’t elicit a reaction from me doesn’t mean it doesn’t for heaps of others; and just because While My Guitar Gently Weeps (which is 3-4 years older than I am) makes me feel something doesn’t mean it’s not just background for others!

 

[JohnK]

I mainly listen to Greek and Indian music and don't have much interest in Anglo music unless I am drinking a beer or three in Pattaya passing the time away relaxing and people watching.

To be honest if not for my 7 year old daughter, who is a Swiftie and proud of it, I would not know about Taylor Swift.

And I have never heard of Coldplay either until mentioned on AFF due to full flights recently.

 

[tdimdad]

I guess the difference is that the Beatles still resonate with a huge amount of people and have stood the test of time. I still don’t go much more than a week or so between listening to one of their albums. I do love all genres of music but I’d love to know if in say 30-40 years people are still listening to some of these modern artists or not.
Not a fan of her music and I’m not her target demographic but no denying she is a great marketer and good at her job

If things continue as they are, Taylor Swift is likely to be in the same league - if not above - with Madonna, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and the likes from the recent pop music era.

If you look at the streaming volumes on Spotify, in the last three years she's been on the 2nd or 1st place with huge amounts of streams (Wikipedia about the recent years). Some of her songs have been streamed closer to 2 billion times which in the big scheme of things puts her to the narrow top of popularity there. Also, the amount of music industry awards she's received is exhausting. Interestingly enough, a lot of her early career awards relate to country music.

One of the factors behind her popularity is the way her lyrics relate to people's lives (especially women's experiences) and how she engages with her audience and followers. I'm not particularly enthused about the musical side but have to commend her on the content and tip my hat off for her record label & manager & marketing machinery. They've created quite a phenomenon. No wonder there's a high demand for the flights, respectively.

 

[downgraded]

They've created quite a phenomenon. No wonder there's a high demand for the flights, respectively.

I couldn't quite decide what the topic of this thread was, TS or flights?

Anyway, it does show that perhaps Sydney's problem isn't too few slots but too small planes. Exactly what the A380 was conceived for and in this case what it was used for.

I do wonder perhaps if slots utilisation might be better served/costed/managed based on the number of pax moved target than simply how many 737s I operate, factoring in also ensuring lesser served destinations don't get squeezed out.

 

[kyle]

but apparently many Americans didn't realise we "go back in time" going from our side of the Pacific to theirs

Seriously? They are truly in a world of their own.

 

[p--and--t]

Seriously? They are truly in a world of their own.

That could be the subject of a whole other thread with many many posts

 

[Forg]

I do wonder perhaps if slots utilisation might be better served/costed/managed based on the number of pax moved target than simply how many 737s I operate, factoring in also ensuring lesser served destinations don't get squeezed out.

QF used to run 767’s in some peak periods between Sydney & Melbourne.
I’ve had no need to be flying at those times in probably 10 years, do they &/or did they ever run A330’s in the same capacity?
Anyone know whether they, I dunno, replaced 3x 767 flights with 4x 737 flights or anything like that?

If things continue as they are, Taylor Swift is likely to be in the same league - if not above - with Madonna, Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, and the likes from the recent pop music era.

I don’t recall ever seeing a vibe like this around a tour, ever. Not Guns ‘n‘ Roses, Dire Straights, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Madonna, U2 or pre-cancellation-from-before-it-became-popular (he was always ahead of his time!) Michael Jackson.
Mind you others have sold more tickets/concerts here, which I initially thought was likely a good example of managing Swiftie demand … treat ‘em mean to keep ‘em keen. But when double-checking this factoid, I see this tour has run since March last year to the end of this year, so it’s not like they could’ve fit more dates into each location anyhoo.

Actually, I was thinking as I rattled off that list of prior artists that had a big vibe … that they were all from over 2 decades ago. I can’t name anyone with that sort of vibe since the 90’s, and it’s not due a lack of interest on my part as the point is about the explosion of hype beyond the fans … but the way the music industry has been fractured is the same as how the car industry was fractured, fan/purchaser interest is spread across a wider range of artists/models these days and it’s been decades since anyone’s had near the sales levels of The Beatles or 1990’s Commodore.
So mebbe part of the embiggenment of the hype here is that she’s the first one they’ve managed to sell so effectively in such a long time? And popularity feeds back into more popularity.

 

[downgraded]

QF used to run 767’s in some peak periods between Sydney & Melbourne.
I’ve had no need to be flying at those times in probably 10 years, do they &/or did they ever run A330’s in the same capacity?
Anyone know whether they, I dunno, replaced 3x 767 flights with 4x 737 flights or anything like that?


I don’t recall ever seeing a vibe like this around a tour, ever. Not Guns ‘n‘ Roses, Dire Straights, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Madonna, U2 or pre-cancellation-from-before-it-became-popular (he was always ahead of his time!) Michael Jackson.
Mind you others have sold more tickets/concerts here, which I initially thought was likely a good example of managing Swiftie demand … treat ‘em mean to keep ‘em keen. But when double-checking this factoid, I see this tour has run since March last year to the end of this year, so it’s not like they could’ve fit more dates into each location anyhoo.

Actually, I was thinking as I rattled off that list of prior artists that had a big vibe … that they were all from over 2 decades ago. I can’t name anyone with that sort of vibe since the 90’s, and it’s not due a lack of interest on my part as the point is about the explosion of hype beyond the fans … but the way the music industry has been fractured is the same as how the car industry was fractured, fan/purchaser interest is spread across a wider range of artists/models these days and it’s been decades since anyone’s had near the sales levels of The Beatles or Commodore.
So mebbe part of the embiggenment of the hype here is that she’s the first one they’ve managed to sell so effectively in such a long time? And popularity feeds back into more popularity.

They used to run an A330 mel-syd and return at peak morning/evening return daily as well as one that seemed to provide a more international appropriate standard for connection to QFi Sydney departures in the afternoon from what I recall.

 

[Forg]

They used to run an A330 mel-syd and return at peak morning/evening return daily as well as one that seemed to provide a more international appropriate standard for connection to QFi Sydney departures in the afternoon

Do you know if they still do?
Or is it still the same number of slots & all dinky-toy aircraft?

 

[Himeno]

QF used to run 767’s in some peak periods between Sydney & Melbourne.

I once flew on a 767 for CBR-MEL.

 

[Pushka]

So it likely comes down to whether we judge music by popularity or a persons definition of quality. These days any musician who knows how to play the social media game will always win. But when that wave passes? That's the time to assess.

While you can cherry pick all musicians release song at any time and criticise that particular song or songs, likely that means you ignore the quality stuff that becomes the stuff of legends. Beatles. Hey Jude.

In my world there is no better performer than Freddie Mercury. He would trump everything today. I'd fly overseas to see him perform again.

 

[Forg]

So it likely comes down to whether we judge music by popularity or a persons definition of quality.

I will always be 100% aware that music is entirely subjective.
People try to break it down into factual objective stuff like how difficult something is to play; but in the end, enjoyment of it is soooo subjective.
Won’t stop me tongue-in-cheek crucifying something I fervently dislike, mind you … like how Blondie invented rap & hip-hop with Rapture in 1980 and then discarded it as a failed experiment & went on to invent the much better Beta while half the American music industry just ran with the old hip-hop that Blondie used to call Alpha but which was relabelled as VHSrap.

In my world there is no better performer than Freddie Mercury. He would trump everything today. I'd fly overseas to see him perform again.

Heh I’ve flown to London just to see Brian & Roger with Paul Rogers …
The variety in Queen music is what’s a little surprising through a modern viewpoint, people like Swift churn out the same formula over & over ‘cos The Fans don’t want any variation from the default.
I suspect that variety isn’t something you could even get away with today; when I’ve found an album I’ve really got into of late, I’ve been super disappointed with the next release from that artist because it’s just more of the same and I’ve heard that already dagnabbit!

 

[serfty]

QF used to run 767’s in some peak periods between Sydney & Melbourne

Before the 738, the mainstay of MEL/SYD flights were the 762 and the A300. (Occasionally a 763 would pop up - great if in Business or First with the Dreamtime seats.) You were stiff if you got a 733 or 734.

At peak event times, say F1, Qantas would often put a 747 in a domestic rotation for the weekend - one would look out for these as the backfill seats were generally cheap and sections of Business seating were sold as economy.

 

[Lynda2475]

IMO a really great song has relatable lyrics and original memorable melody/instrumentals, it can also be popular or not.

Yes what we like is subjective, but there are still artists who have variety in their work. And fact that Taylor started country and moved to pop show there is variety in her catalogue too.

I like Freddie/Queen and rate them above the Beatles, they would make my top 100 Albums.

FI Blondie did not invent RAP, Rapture was just the first RAP song to chart. African American communties had been rapping for years before Rapture. I like some Blondie songs but Rapture is not one of them.

Back on topic. In December 2022 when everything opened up and people couldn't wait to go somewhere QF upgraded SYD 737 SYD-CNS to A330 because of demand. Last two years on day before/day of AFL grand final QF ran swapped a few 737s to A330s SYD-MEL, and day before/day of NRL grand final did the same on BNE-SYD.

 

[Forg]

FI Blondie did not invent RAP, Rapture was just the first RAP song to chart. African American communties had been rapping for years before Rapture. I like some Blondie songs but Rapture is not one of them.

This is woke historical revisionism invented by the same people who invented the moon landing and who stopped the world from finding out that Elvis & Roy Orbison & JFK are alive and well & working in a 7-11 somewhere in the deep south of the USA …

 

[Chicken]

Rex operated ZL-TAY flights apparently:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=7208032732644298