Live streams of Taylor Swift’s sold-out Eras Tour concerts in Toronto give devoted fans a window into the spectacle of outfits, surprise songs and elaborate stages from one of the biggest cultural events in recent memory. As the massive tour inches toward its final three shows in Vancouver early next month, feeding Swifties’ insatiable appetite has become a nightly tradition for a handful of live stream hosts based all over the world. They act as ringleaders for tens of thousands of viewers witnessing Swift’s constantly evolving show through unofficial channels. “I never saw it being as big as it is,” said Tess Bohne, one of the personalities credited as a pioneer of the Swift live streams. “There is a big idea of community (and) being present without being there.” Broadcasting unauthorized concert live streams on social platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook isn’t an entirely new phenomenon, but it’s one that’s been amplified with Swift’s tour. As their popularity grows, the streams are sparking conversations about copyright law and the delicate balance between protecting intellectual property and allowing listeners to embrace their fandom. “We’ve gone beyond art being a one-way conversation from the artist to the audience,” said Jay Kerr-Wilson, an IP lawyer and co-leader of Fasken’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications Group in Ottawa. “Copyright owners, generally speaking, are being more flexible and they’re not necessarily (thinking) black-and-white.” Representatives for the singer did not respond to requests for comment. For fans, the lines are already blurred. Bohne got wrapped up in the Swift live-streaming phenomenon nearly two years ago after she attended the second night of the Eras Tour, in Glendale, Ariz., and found herself consumed by the experience for days afterward. “(Often) you go to a concert and you’re like, ‘That was great, let’s move on with my life,’” the 33-year-old explained in a video call from Salt Lake City. “But there was something different. It was like, ‘No, that wasn’t enough. I’m not done.’” Eager to relive the high she felt, Bohne chased down the TikTok profiles of fellow Swifties streaming other stops on the tour. With little technical experience, she began rebroadcasting their videos, with credit, on her own TikTok profile. She would place an iPad playing their feed in front of her phone’s camera, and then swap it out with her other iPad when she found a user with a better angle of the concert. The crude setup initially drew a few thousand viewers, she said, and with more effort put into the productionher audience has grown to 100,000 to 200,000 during peak moments. Since her initial broadcast, Bohne estimates she’s streamed more than 110 of Swift’s concerts in a split-screen format, streaming the concert in one corner and munching on snacks in the other while discussing all things Swift with a chat room of strangers. Some fans donate cash, and her social media status has helped attract influencer partnerships. But the stay-at-home mom of three children said this is primarily a labour of love. Bohne is credited by many of her contemporaries as the one who inspired them to take a shot at hosting their own Eras Tour with live commentary. “A lot of people say it’s like religion for them,” explained Lucas Chalub, a Twitch streamer and longtime Swiftie. Chalub first experimented with hosting streams in August 2023. Rumours swirled that the singer might announce the release date for one of her re-recorded albums on stage in Los Angeles, so many Swifties sought out live feeds, which included his impromptu setup that night. “A lot of people joined,” remembered the 27-year-old sports journalist from Argentina. “That’s the first night that I said, ‘Why not do this every night?’” Chalub said he usually draws on streams from 10 to 15 concertgoers who are often aware their recordings might get picked up by the streaming hosts. Many bring power banks to recharge their devices and sometimes a backup phone. “We are not the heroes that people think we are,” Chalub added of his fellow streamers, crediting fans on the ground who do their work pro bono. “The real heroes are the people in the venue spending — or wasting — their time trying to live stream for us instead of enjoying the show.” The legality around live streaming Swift’s concerts is murky. In the simplest terms, the rebroadcasting of copyrighted music without a licence isn’t allowed, and platforms such as YouTube and TikTok have sometimes shut down live feeds mid-stream at the behest of record labels. It happened to Ammir Shar, a 25-year-old streamer from Blackpool, U.K., who saw his YouTube feed for the fourth Toronto concert yanked down while the show was in progress. Hosts say they worry about racking up too many takedown notices, which can risk permanently shutting down their channels. Usually after a live stream ends, they delete the footage from platforms like YouTube. However, they say attempts to silence them won’t amount to much. When one streamer falls, sometimes two others turn up. Copyright owners are still grappling with that perspective, especially when unsanctioned live streams can impact other financial stakes, said Kerr-Wilson. In Swift’s case, she sold the streaming rights to her “The Eras Tour” film to Disney Plus for US$75 million. Arguably, the lawyer suggested, a company might take issue with similar options on the market, such as a live stream. But even that seems to be an evolving conversation. “People have realized that social media and user-generated content isn’t the enemy, and, in fact, can be a powerful way to engage with fans and to be part of the conversation,” he said. “I think the trend is going to continue.” While Swift hasn’t publicly said much about the streams, several streamers believe she is aware of them. They also argue the vast majority of people tuning into their feeds already have an investment in Swift’s success. Last November, a group of technologically savvy Swifties launched Swift Alert, a phone app that sends out alerts for the highlights of each Eras Tour show. Inside the app, the creators also launched a game called Mastermind — named after a Swift song, of course — where fans can win prizes by guessing which of Swift’s rotating selection of outfits she’ll wear for each “era” of her performance. Using Swift Alert in tandem with the live streams, many fans tune in for the standout moments of the three-hour concert. “A lot of people compare it to fantasy football,” Shah said. “This kind of stuff brings us closer together.” With the Eras Tour set to end in Vancouver on Dec. 8, many live streamers say they’re uncertain how the future looks. Recently, Bohne experimented with a live stream from pop singer Meghan Trainor’s concert to see if there’s similar interest. While it was enjoyable, she said the experience wasn’t quite the same. Others have started streaming Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet Tour. They say her shows are closest to Swift’s because Carpenter is a natural at witty banter, performs nightly surprise songs and changes up her outfits. “I’ve considered doing a few other (musicians, but they) are more like normal concerts — the artist on the stage with a microphone in one outfit, just singing their songs,” said Shah. “It’s not something that people at home will be like, ‘What outfit is she going to wear?’” Some wonder how live streaming will look without the intrigue of Swift’s tour. Added Bohne: “No concert is like The Eras Tour.”MLB shifts six 2025 Rays games to avoid weather issuesUK's longest-serving MP calls for assisted dying vote delay as not enough time 'to consider immense complexities'z locations 。

WASHINGTON – A couple of lawmakers on Capitol Hill are trying to pull federal financial aid funding from colleges that participate in commercial boycotts of Israel, a longstanding student demand that has become more widespread since the war in Gaza broke out last year. The Protect Economic Freedom Act, introduced by Reps. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., on Tuesday, highlights an issue on which some Democrats have demonstrated a willingness to side with Republicans , who have relentlessly scrutinized colleges' handling of antiwar protests amid a rise in discrimination complaints from Jewish students. The measure has little chance of passing before a new Congress is seated next year, when the lawmakers plan to reintroduce it. The legislation follows warnings from Republican attorneys general around the country who have threatened to enforce state antiboycott laws against colleges that approve divestment policies. As the chair of the education panel in the U.S. House of Representatives, Foxx oversaw congressional hearings focused on antisemitism on college campuses that led to the ouster of several Ivy League presidents in the past year. Gottheimer is part of a group of congressional Jewish Democrats who found a rare area of bipartisan agreement in criticizing college administrators amid the campus turmoil prompted by the Israel-Hamas war. Gottheimer is a fierce critic of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, or BDS, movement, which gained steam on college campuses over the spring. Divestment, explained: Pro-Palestinian protesters urge universities to divest from Israel. What does that mean? "The new bipartisan Protect Economic Freedom Act will give the Department of Education a critical new tool to combat the antisemitic BDS movement on college campuses," Gottheimer said in a statement on Tuesday. "Now more than ever, we must take the necessary steps to protect our Jewish community." Through loans or grants, millions of college students in the U.S. rely on some form of federal financial aid. To receive that money, there are already lots of stipulations, including that colleges follow antidiscrimination laws. Technically, the federal Education Department has the power to yank schools' funding if an investigation finds they violated those laws, but that outcome rarely occurs. Most colleges, even private ones, receive some form of funding from the federal government. Access to those dollars has become more of a political cudgel recently, as lawmakers in Washington have ratcheted up their scrutiny of universities. Last spring brought calls from students nationwide who demanded their colleges sever ties with the Israeli government, and some schools took steps to assuage them. In May, the board of trustees at Union Theological Seminary in New York City endorsed a proposal to divest from companies that, according to the school , "support and profit from the present killing of innocent civilians in Palestine." San Francisco State University said in August that its foundation would stop investing in companies that make money from weapons manufacturing. At other schools, however, protest momentum has slowed as school administrators rejected divestment propositions. Read more: GOP officials say states could punish colleges that divest from Israel. Could they? Zachary Schermele covers education and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele .

Austrian champions Sturm Graz are set to welcome Spanish side Girona to Worthersee Stadion on Wednesday in their fifth Champions League fixture of the season. The home team were beaten 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund on November 5 in their last European match and are fourth last in 33rd place with no points, while the visitors are 29th with three points and lost 4-0 against PSV Eindhoven in early November. © Imago Christian Ilzer was head coach of Sturm Graz but was appointed manager of Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in the middle of November, and Jurgen Saumel has taken charge of the Austrians on an interim basis. While Saumel's side might have ordinarily been considered underdogs against Dortmund, the German side were forced to field two midfielders in their back four, and perhaps fans might have expected the team to take advantage of their opponents. Die Schwoazn are currently first in their domestic league with 32 points from 14 matches and are five points ahead of second-placed Rapid Vienna. Sturm Graz have scored just once in their four Champions League matches while conceding six times, and they have also won four of their six most recent games in all competitions, losing one and drawing one. The home team have been triumphant in four of their last six home matches, but it should be noted that they have lost their past six fixtures at Worthersee Stadion in the Champions League. © Imago Girona come into Wednesday's clash seventh in La Liga with 21 points after 14 matchweeks, and are four points from the division's fourth and final Champions League qualification spot. Though the White and Reds were beaten 4-0 by PSV last time out in Europe's premier competition, they were at least somewhat competitive up until the 55th minute when Arnau Martinez was sent off. The result was by no means disastrous considering the Spanish side are only two points from 24th-placed PSV, who occupy the Champions League's final round of 16 playoff spot. Boss Michel will be alarmed by the fact his team have conceded eight goals and scored just four times in four games in the competition, while they have a record of 20 goals netted and 18 conceded in La Liga. Girona are in good form having won four of their last five matches and have found the back of the net 13 times in that period. The visitors have also won two of their three most recent fixtures, but they have worryingly lost five and drawn two of their 10 games on the road this campaign. © Imago Sturm Graz midfielder Jon Gorenc-Stankovic has not made an appearance since late September due to a shoulder injury, and he will miss the rest of the season. In his absence, the hosts may field a double pivot consisting of Tochi Chukwuani and Otar Kiteishvili , with Malick Yalcouye and William Boving flanking the pair in wide positions. Forward Amady Camara is a doubt as a result of illness, and if Wednesday's game comes too soon then the visitors could select a front two of Mika Biereth and Seedy Jatta . Girona will be without suspended defender Arnau Martinez, as well as midfielder Yangel Herrera , who is scheduled to make a comeback from a foot injury in the middle of December. Michel could select a back four of Juanpe , David Lopez , Ladislav Krejci and Daley Blind behind a double pivot featuring Silvi Clua and Oriol Romeu . Attackers Abel Ruiz , Gabriel Misehouy and Cristian Portu are set to be unavailable, so expect Bryan Gil , Donny van de Beek , Miguel Gutierrez and Bojan Miovski to start in the forward line. Sturm Graz possible starting lineup: Scherpen; Johnston, Aiwu, Lavalee, Gazibegovic; Yalcouye, Chukwuani, Kiteishvili, Boving; Biereth, Jatta Girona possible starting lineup: Gazzaniga; Juanpe, Lopez, Krejci, Blind; Romeu, Clua; Gil, Van de Beek, Gutierrez; Miovski Considering Sturm Graz will still be adjusting to life without Ilzer, it would not be surprising if they struggled on Wednesday without the guidance of a permanent manager. Additionally, Girona are in good goalscoring form and they could create several opportunities in the final third. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here .

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