Taylor Swift ticket debacle breaks the internet [Updated]

We will all remember where we were when the Ticketmaster queue was disrupted.

A convoluted maze of codes, tiered access, fees and updates that could be difficult to parse has left fans rushing to secure tickets ahead of a recently announced Taylor Swift concert tour. The pop megastar is scheduled to play three shows at Nissan Stadium on May 5, 6 and 7. According to a map shared with the Stage which analyzes location-tagged tweets, from Swifties in every state, Tennessee residents expressed the “most negative” feelings towards Ticketmaster for this week’s train wreck queue. Even Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti expressed concern about the debacle and Ticketmaster’s potential violation of consumer protections.

“We strive to make buying tickets as easy as possible for fans, but that hasn’t been the case for many people trying to buy tickets for the Eras Tour,” a statement read. from Ticketmaster.

Fans were urged to sign up for the Verified Fan program ahead of the tour for the best chance of getting a pre-sale code. On Monday evening, 1.5 million people were invited to line up for the presale, which opened at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. 2 million more people have been put on the waiting list for the presale. Shortly after the waitlist opened, Ticketmaster’s portal crashed, leaving hopeful shoppers waiting for seven or eight hours.

“It’s a cultural reset,” says Nashville Swiftie Carley Carder. “It was so awful to be in that queue all day. Parasocial relationships are weird, but I’m mad at her. [Taylor] said, “I want money at the expense of everyone around me.” ”

Carder bought merchandise specifically because she suspected it would give her a better chance of getting a pre-sale code and received an email from official fan organization Taylor Nation confirming that she had received a kick. inch. She also signed up for a Capital One credit card so she could participate in an additional presale.

“At 2:50 p.m., I could see the queue moving at a trackable pace,” says Carder. “I could see the queue moving and the numbers changing. People were texting me saying they had tickets. I got my tickets at 3:35 p.m. There was almost nothing left. Tickets appeared and disappeared. It would say “another fan touched them” and new ones will appear and then disappear. We didn’t know what was going on. »

Carder reports she paid $289 per ticket for two seats with an obstructed view in row E on level 100 of the stadium. With Ticketmaster fees, the total came to nearly $700.

“But I’m glad to have them,” she said. “At least I have a ticket. A lot of people don’t. It might sound crazy, but it’s a good show. I couldn’t imagine not going.

Carder says a friend paid $599 for a ticket that is somehow marked as both obstructed view and VIP. Some tickets on the secondary market cost more than $10,000.

Since the tour announcement, Swift has added dates to the tour twice, with an additional show in Nashville each time: eight more shows and then 17 more dates. The Eras Tour is Swift’s first extended tour since ending her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. Over the four-year period, Swift has released four new studio albums – Lover, Folklore, Still and Midnights — and re-recordings of career landmarks titled Fearless (Taylor version) and Red (Taylor’s version) after splitting with Big Machine Label Group.

Update, November 18, 2:30 p.m.: Taylor Swift responded to the kerfuffle with a note in an Instagram story, captured below. “It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets,” she wrote, “but it really pisses me off that so many of them feel like they’ve had multiple bear attacks for get them.”

The New York Times also reports that the US Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation into Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, which predates the incident with Swift’s ticket sales. Two unnamed sources note that the investigation is focused on whether or not Live Nation abused its power.