Recorded Magnitude 2.3 in Jindo During Seattle Live
"More Than Twice the Magnitude of a Touchdown in American Football"
Reports have emerged that the vibrations caused by fans during a concert by the world-renowned American pop star Taylor Swift registered 2.3 on seismographs.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 28th (local time) that “the vibrations caused by 70,000 spectators and the music during Swift’s live performance in Seattle last week were tremendous.”
Seismologists measure ground acceleration and then convert it to the Richter scale to determine the earthquake’s magnitude. Jackie Kaplan-Awibach, a seismologist at Western Washington University, stated, “The so-called ‘Swift vibrations’ increased the peak ground acceleration by an average of about 11 cm per second.”
This is more than twice as strong as the magnitude 2.0 vibrations caused by Seattle Seahawks fans during the dramatic last-minute touchdown at the 2011 American football game. A difference of 0.3 on the Richter scale actually represents more than double the intensity.
Moreover, the ‘Swift vibrations’ occurred continuously throughout the concerts on the 22nd and 23rd. Muse Roysch, a seismologist at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Observatory, said, “For a while, this will be the largest concert to cause the strongest vibrations.”
Taylor Swift performing at the 'The Eras Tour' (Image source: Official Twitter capture of Taylor Swift)
Debuting in 2006, Swift has been recognized as one of the most successful female musicians since the 2010s, capturing both musical artistry and commercial success. Her popularity in her home country, the United States, is especially absolute.
She holds the record for the most number one albums on the Billboard HOT 200 among female artists, with nine studio albums topping the chart, and has sold over 60 million albums worldwide. At the Grammy Awards, she became the first female singer to win Album of the Year three times.
In particular, Swift’s concerts have such an economic impact that the term ‘Swiftonomics’ (a blend of economics and Swift) has been coined, as prices soar in every city she visits, influencing the global economy.
Swift is also known for her strategy of maximizing revenue by performing only in venues that can accommodate at least 70,000 people, such as football stadiums. According to Bloomberg, the revenue from each show of Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour,’ which began in March this year, reaches between 11 and 12 million dollars.
The music industry forecasts that Swift will earn over 1 billion dollars (approximately 1.27 trillion won) from concert revenues alone this year.
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