SINGAPORE: Stepping into the controversy surrounding the exclusive deal Singapore inked with Taylor Swift to make Singapore her sole Southeast Asian tour stop, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s wife Ho Ching has suggested that the millions the Singapore Government gave to the pop star were more of a “thank you honorarium” and a deal “sweetener,” as she called on critics to “chill.”

Mdm Ho’s take comes days after her husband confirmed that his agencies paid an “incentive” to Swift in exchange for exclusivity. Mr Lee added that he does not see this as being unfriendly to Singapore’s neighbours in Southeast Asia in response to comments from regional leaders that the deal undermines the ASEAN spirit of cooperation.

While the Government has not disclosed how much of an incentive was provided to Swift, Mdm Ho has referred to a ballpark figure of S$2-4 million in a new post.

Taking to Facebook yesterday (12 March), the PM’s wife argued that it was not substantial enough to warrant the level of criticism it received.

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In her post, Mdm Ho compared ticket prices for Swift’s concerts in Singapore, ranging from S$88 to over S$1,200, with prices in the USA and Canada, where the lowest ticket prices are at least S$1,000 each.

Asserting that the reported amount given to Swift by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) would not have significantly influenced the decision to perform in Singapore, she speculated that the payment was likely seen as a token of appreciation rather than a decisive factor in Swift’s decision.

The former Temasek chief said, “It sounded more like a thank you honorarium to celebrate her decision to come to Sg. But being the good civil servants, STB must have cracked their heads to find an internal rationale for giving the “grant”.”

“They can’t call it a welcome gift for a daughter or granddaughter of 2 well established Sg resident from early years. They also cannot call it a thank you gift, as that would set a bad precedent for the future. It is also not a donation in exchange for providing lowest price tickets at S$88/- each.

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And so in the typical civil service speak, it can only be a grant.”

She added that the sum had perhaps been mischaracterised as a per-concert incentive when it was the amount for the entire series of six shows.

In her lengthy post, Mdm Ho attempted to contextualize the reported payment by analyzing potential revenue from Swift’s concerts.

She estimated that a six-night extravaganza in Singapore could generate approximately S$150 million in ticket sales, compared to potentially higher revenues in the USA and Canada.

Mdm Ho argued that the reported payment to Swift represented a relatively small percentage of total revenue and was unlikely to have been a decisive factor in the decision-making process.

Noting the challenges faced by artists’ managers in balancing financial considerations when planning concert tours, she suggested that Singapore’s competitiveness in terms of total landed costs may have influenced Swift’s decision to include Singapore in her tour.

Mdm Ho concluded that the reported payment served more as a gesture of gratitude than anything else. She wrote:

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“So a thank you sweetener of S$2m to S$4 million, say S$3 million, would come up to about 2% of the total topline revenue in Sg, or only about 1% of the difference between performing in USA vs performing in Sg. Not really enough to swing a deal, right?

“Except to show a bit of earnest money that we will do our best to provide the best experience for both the artist and her team, and the concertgoers young and old.”

Asserting that the incentive “was not the deal winner nor the deal breaker,” the PM’s wife urged critics to chill.

She wrote: “So chill, man, chill! Let TS and the various artists decide for themselves where they think it makes sense for them.”

The controversy appears to have captured the PM’s wife’s interest deeply. Mdm Ho posted six more posts on the same topic on her Facebook page this morning (13 March).