Trying to see Taylor Swift live? You’re on your own, kid.
Tickets for the pop star’s highly-anticipated “Eras Tour” became available forpresale on Tuesday morning to lucky Swifties selected as “verified fans” byTicketmaster. However, for many, today wasn’t a fairytale.
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I started my ticket-buying journey at 8 am PT, an hour before my purchasingwindow for the Glendale, Ariz. shows. While Ticketmaster issued the codes,both Glendale and the Arlington, Texas concert presales were executed throughSeatGeek.
The previous night, my friends and I negotiated our budget ceiling. It wasreported that non-VIP tickets would max out at $449, but I’ve been burned bydynamic pricing too many times to enter a ticket sale unprepared for pricegouging. I opened up my presale link on two computers and my phone in hopes ofincreasing my chances of getting through the queue. As I scrolled Twitter toget tips from Swifties on the East Coast, panic set in.
Many fans attempting to snag tickets took to Twitter to voice theirfrustrations — while some made it through to purchase, many were met with aqueue indicating “2,000+ people ahead of you.” To make matters worse,Ticketmaster then “temporarily paused” the queue, leaving hopefuls in limbowith no indication of when they may be let through.
As soon as the clock struck 9, I was redirected to SeatGeek’s virtual line.Unlike Ticketmaster, there was no telling where I was in the queue: the words“you’re in line” were accompanied by an unmoving orange progress bar.
At 9:09 am, one of my computers displayed a blurry image of the seat map. Ittook another four minutes for the interface to actually load. I immediatelynoticed that I was assigned March 18, with no option to try for the March 17show, despite Ticketmaster’s assurance that the verified fan presale wouldapply to any dates for your selected venue. I decided not to waste time overthe date, instead locking in on the very front of the pit, choosing four seatsas close to the stage as possible.
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I was brought to another screen, ready to pay… only to be told my selectedseats were already snatched up. It took another five minutes for the seat mapto load again — and I immediately noticed that the seats I had just attemptedto buy were still listed as available on the map. I ignored them and triedagain in section after section, repeating the “already taken” experience threemore times.
My boss called me in the middle of my ticket-induced meltdown. After anattempt to discuss the workday was interrupted by my screams of expletives, wecut things short. “Get your tickets and call me after you’re done,” he said,clearly recognizing I was in a frenzy.
At 9:18 am, I finally managed to pick some seats that were _actually_available in the front section of the pit. I was, to borrow a phrase fromSwift, “The Lucky One,” snagging four tickets at $429 each (plus the dreadedservice fees, adding $99.14 to each ticket).
Eras Tour Tickets
After soaking in the glory of being my friend group’s hero (and finallycalling my boss back), I texted another pal buying tickets for an LA show.“Ticketmaster has not let me into the waiting room, which was supposed to beopen 20 minutes ago,” he said. After 20 minutes, he was pushed to a sale at 3pm PT.
Ticketmaster addressed the crash in a statement on social media, citing“historically unprecedented demand with millions showing up to buy tickets.”The seller delayed the Capital One presale by a full day, moving it toWednesday at 2 pm local venue time.
Moreover, fans who had tickets to Swift’s canceled “Lover Fest” were promised“preferred access” to the sale, but it seems that fell to the wayside duringthe purchase process, with many reporting they still waited in the generalpresale queue.
A quick glance at StubHub shows that seats in my section now range from $1,999to $12,825. If the verified fan system was intended to stop scalpers fromreselling tickets at a premium… it didn’t. It’s curious that Ticketmaster,which controlled the number of verified fans, wouldn’t have the means tosupport the sale.
Obviously, tickets for Swift’s concerts are a hot commodity, but no one shouldbe forced to take days off work and wait in hours-long lines with no end insight just to see their favorite artist. While I’m grateful I’ll be able toattend the “Eras Tour,” I can’t stop thinking about how poorly this sale went— and this is far from the first strike against these sellers.
Ticketmaster and SeatGeek: You’re the problem, it’s you.
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