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On your own, kid: Taylor's solo appeal is unique amongst streaming royalty

On your own, kid: Taylor's solo appeal is unique amongst streaming royalty

Just looking at the top 5 most-listened-to artists on Spotify, Taylor’s biggest hits are notable for being overwhelmingly…well, her. A staggering 147 out of the 152 Taylor Swift songs that have amassed more than 100 million plays are songs in which Swift is the lead artist. Drake is involved in more songs to cross that threshold, 218 to be exact, but more than one-third (72) of those are songs in which Drake is only a feature on the track, not the main event.

Tourism (Taylor's Version)

The Eras Tour has so far grossed more than $300 million since March, overtaking legends Bruce Springsteen and Elton John to become the biggest tour of the year. But how far can it go? Pollstar have estimated that it could gross over $1.4 billion by the time it concludes in August 2024, which would make it the highest grossing tour of all time.

One study from research company QuestionPro reported that fans have individually spent an average of $1,300 per show to attend the tour, including tickets, travel, accommodation, and clothing. If concertgoers continue to spend at this rate, the tour could generate some ~$4.6 billion in consumer spending in the US alone.

Indeed, earlier this month, occupancy rates in Chicago hit an all-time high (96.8%) when Swift performed 3 shows there, and it was noted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia in its most recent ‘Beige Book’ — which, as the name suggests, isn’t usually the most riveting report — that a major boost in hotel revenue seen in May was largely credited to “an influx of guests for the Taylor Swift concerts in the city”.

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Tamagotchis are making a comeback, 3 decades after first becoming a global toy craze

If you were a ’90s kid, you might remember the craze around little egg-shaped toys with an 8-bit digital screen, displaying an ambiguous pet-thing that demanded food and attention.

Now, on the brand’s 30th anniversary, the Tamagotchi the Japanese pocket-sized virtual pet that launched a thousand cute and needy tech companions, from Nintendogs to fluffy AI robots — is making a minor comeback.

Tamagotchi Google Search Trends
Sherwood News

Looking at Google Trends data, searches for “tamagotchi” spiked in December in the US, up around 80% from just six months prior, with the most search volume in almost two decades.

While the toys are popular Christmas gifts, with interest volumes often seen ticking up in December each year, the sudden interest might also have something to do with the birthday celebrations that creator and manufacturer Bandai Namco are putting on, including a Tokyo exhibition that opened on Wednesday.

Game, set, hatch

More broadly, modern consumers appear to have a growing obsession with collectibles (see: Labubu mania), as well as a taste for nostalgia (see: the iPod revival, among many other trends).

But, having finally hit 100 million sales in September last year, the brand itself is probably just glad to exist, giving a whole new generation the chance to experience the profound grief of an unexpected Tamagotchi death.

$5.6B

Disney could be well on its way to its third billion-dollar film of the year following a $345 million opening weekend for “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” The film’s opening gross puts the “Avatar” franchise’s total box office earnings at $5.6 billion — and counting.

The latest film, the second “Avatar” entry under Disney’s tent, earned about 75% of its total box office gross internationally — in line with previous movies in the (as of now) trilogy. Domestically, this one earned $88 million, falling short of expectations.

“Fire and Ash” was the widest Imax release ever, debuting on 1,703 screens globally and earning $43.6 million through the format. The $345 million “Fire and Ash” opening weekend was the second-highest of 2025, behind Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” which recently passed the $1 billion mark, globally.

Year to date, Disney has earned $5.8 billion globally at the box office.

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