KUALA LUMPUR – Advisory firm Sportswork Group Sdn Bhd has refuted selected statements in a news report and said that Taylor Swift’s multi-billion-dollar global Eras Tour “was never offered to the Malaysian government under the joint ASM-Sportswork-PSM contract”.
“Sportswork would like to clarify that selected statements in the article ‘Malaysia had Taylor Swift in its grip and did nothing’ published on Free Malaysia Today on March 5 are inaccurate,” said the firm in a brief statement today.
Sportswork, which is based in Malaysia, said the joint contract with ASM Global and Malaysia Stadium Corporation (PSM) that was signed in early 2023 was meant to support the overall venue management.
“The concert in question was never offered to the Malaysian government under the joint ASM-Sportswork-PSM contract, despite Swift’s tour being officially announced back in November 2022.
“Sportswork believes that the entertainment industry would have been aware of any impending acts as they are planned ahead of any official announcement.
“Sportswork wishes to highlight that the said joint contract that was signed in early 2023 is meant to support the overall venue management. Sportswork and ASM’s services have been agreed upon and worked on actively and consistently with PSM since then.”
ASM Global is the world’s largest venue and event management company based in Los Angeles and specialises in managing more than 300 stadiums, convention centres, theatres, and other venues.
It is also an affiliate of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), which is Swift’s concert promoter.
The brouhaha over The Eras Tour came to a head when it was revealed that Singapore gave up to US$3 million in grants for each concert to secure exclusivity with Swift so the island republic will be her only Southeast Asian stop.
Neighbours in the region have hit out at the exclusivity deal, which sees Swift staging six sold-out shows in Singapore’s National Stadium. The dates for Singapore were announced in June 2023.
Swift is performing at the 60,000-capacity venue on March 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9. More than 300,000 tickets were sold, with a large number of fans going to Singapore for the concerts.
Her tour has also ignited “Swiftonomics”, as her tour massively bumps up retail sales figures and local economies where concerts were held.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the exclusivity was not a hostile act towards its neighbours in Southeast Asia.
It was revealed that a team from a Singaporean corporate entity started wooing Swift in early 2023, way before any international dates were set for her tour.
Kallang Alive Sport Management chairman Keith Magnus said the team was the proactive “tip of the spear” for the government when it initiated discussions with Team Taylor.
“Once the discussion had progressed and we saw the opportunity of holding an only-in-Singapore event, we then thought it made sense to take a whole-of-government approach and bring in other relevant agencies to really have Team Singapore bring in Team Taylor.”
He added that there was “certainly an understanding that it was an only-in-Singapore event, (and) that’s how it was branded”. – March 6, 2024