pitch unfairly

Cheat Codes · Reviews and post-mortems

The Eras Tour, 2023 to 2024. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

149 shows. Every seat sold. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Year in review

  • 149 shows
  • $2.077B gross
  • 10.1M tickets
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
2023 to 2024 Year in review

The Eras Tour

149 shows. Every seat sold.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→12 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

The Eras Tour's year in review, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. The Eras Tour deck, slide 1: 149 shows, 21 months, every seat sold. 01149 shows, 21 months, every seat sold.
  2. The Eras Tour deck, slide 2: The highest-grossing tour in history, and the first past $2 billion. 02The highest-grossing tour in history, and the first past $2 billion.
  3. The Eras Tour deck, slide 3: We doubled the old record in less than half the shows. 03We doubled the old record in less than half the shows.
  4. The Eras Tour deck, slide 4: Each night ran 3 hours 15 minutes: ten eras, 44 songs. 04Each night ran 3 hours 15 minutes: ten eras, 44 songs.
  5. The Eras Tour deck, slide 5: Five continents, 21 countries, one city at a time. 05Five continents, 21 countries, one city at a time.
  6. The Eras Tour deck, slide 6: Seattle's crowd registered a magnitude 2.3. 06Seattle's crowd registered a magnitude 2.3.
  7. The Eras Tour deck, slide 7: The fans made their own merch: friendship bracelets. 07The fans made their own merch: friendship bracelets.
  8. The Eras Tour deck, slide 8: Even the Federal Reserve wrote us up. 08Even the Federal Reserve wrote us up.
  9. The Eras Tour deck, slide 9: Not every night went to plan. Three we won't forget. 09Not every night went to plan. Three we won't forget.
  10. The Eras Tour deck, slide 10: Plan for the crowd that actually shows up. 10Plan for the crowd that actually shows up.
  11. The Eras Tour deck, slide 11: The crew carried it. They shared $197 million in bonuses. 11The crew carried it. They shared $197 million in bonuses.
  12. The Eras Tour deck, slide 12: Show 149 is done. Next: load-out. 12Show 149 is done. Next: load-out.

Then · 2023 to 2024

How it really went

Read the real storythe tour, via Wikipedia
  1. November 2022: Ticketmaster plans for 1.5 million fans; 14 million turn up
  2. March 17, 2023: opening night in Glendale, Arizona
  3. Ten acts, one per era: 3 hours 15 minutes, 44 to 46 songs a night
  4. Fans trade beaded friendship bracelets at every show
  5. July 2023: the Seattle crowd registers the equivalent of a magnitude 2.3 earthquake
  6. July 2023: the Federal Reserve's Beige Book credits the Philadelphia shows for the city's best hotel month since the pandemic began
  7. August 2023: $100,000 bonuses for each of the 50 truck drivers
  8. October 2023: the concert film opens, and becomes the biggest concert film ever
  9. December 2023: first tour past $1 billion
  10. May 2024: a new album becomes a new act, from Paris on
  11. August 2024: three Vienna shows cancelled after a foiled terror plot
  12. December 8, 2024: show 149 in Vancouver; $2.077 billion, 10.1 million tickets, $197 million in crew bonuses

Now · 2026 · 12 slides

What we changed

  • The record race runs liveThe gross counts up past Ed Sheeran and Elton John, flags each record as it falls, then flips to per show: $13.9 million a night against about $3 million.
  • Every city lights up in sequinsA sequin world map lights all 149 shows in order, Glendale to Vancouver; drag the slider to scrub the tour and watch the countries tick to 21.
  • String your own braceletType a stat or tap a preset and the beads re-string themselves: 149 SHOWS, 10.1M FANS, $2.077B.
  • The Swift Quake, on paperA seismograph draws Seattle 2023 against the 2011 Beast Quake at twice the swing, with a button to play it again.

Steal the structure

Build your year in review like The Eras Tour did.

  1. 01 Cover The year in one line and who it is for: the team that did it.
  2. 02 The headline The single result everyone should repeat, with three quiet supporting numbers.
  3. 03 Against the record The result next to the plan, last year, or the previous best, in total and per unit.
  4. 04 What we shipped The product as it ran, and what changed during the year.
  5. 05 Reach Where the work landed, shown on a map or timeline you can scrub.
  6. 06 Highlight with proof One standout moment, measured by someone outside the team.
  7. 07 What customers did The behavior you did not plan for, and the number that shows it spread.
  8. 08 Receipts Outside sources that noticed: one document as the hero, the rest as stubs.
  9. 09 What did not go to plan The misses, plainly, each with what followed.
  10. 10 What we learned One lesson as the hero with its evidence, two more in a quiet list.
  11. 11 Thank you The people who did it, by team and by name, and what they got.
  12. 12 What is next Done, now, next on one line, so the year ends on the next step.

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