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Getting tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour is likely to be extremely competitive given her massive fanbase and the hype surrounding her first tour in 5 years. Swift has not done a full stadium tour since her Reputation tour in 2018, so demand is incredibly high to see her perform hits from her entire discography live. Her Eras tour is set to begin in March 2023 and last through August 2023, spanning stadiums across the United States and international dates in Europe and Latin America.
With tickets going on sale in mid-November 2022 through Ticketmaster, fans are anxious to secure seats for what will undoubtedly be one of the hottest tours of 2023. Given Swift’s immense popularity and her ability to sell out stadiums rapidly, the odds of scoring tickets are low. Fans will need to be strategic in their ticket-buying approach and prepared for high prices in order to beat the competition.
Background on Taylor Swift’s Popularity and Drawing Power
To understand the feverish demand for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, it’s important to look at her tremendous success over the past 15+ years. Swift first came onto the music scene as a country singer in 2006 with her self-titled debut album. However, she crossed over into pop music with her 2012 album Red and has achieved enormous popularity across genres.
Some key facts about Swift’s popularity:
– She has won 11 Grammy Awards, holding the record for most Grammy wins by a female artist ever.
– Her last four studio albums (Red, 1989, Reputation, Lover) have all sold over 4 million copies worldwide.
– She is the highest certified digital singles artist in US history with 151 million certified units.
– On Spotify, Swift is the 3rd most streamed female artist of all time with over 45 billion streams.
– She has over 200 million followers combined across social media platforms.
Swift has also proven to be a huge touring draw over her career. Her last major worldwide tour, the Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018, broke the record for the highest-grossing U.S. tour by a woman. She performed 53 sold-out shows to over 2 million fans and grossed $266.1 million. Previously, her 1989 World Tour in 2015 became the highest-grossing tour in music history by a female artist at the time.
Given her trenmendous growth in popularity since 2015, expectations are that the Eras tour will easily surpass the attendance and revenue from her previous tours. She has only continued to cultivate a larger global fanbase across all demographics that is hungry to see her perform live.
Ticket Demand Signals for the Eras Tour
There are already clear signs of incredibly high demand for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour tickets, even though they have yet to go on sale.
Here are some data points that show the tour will sell out rapidly:
– In the first 24 hours of the tour being announced, Ticketmaster saw registrations for the ticket presale increase 1300% compared to Swift’s last tour in 2018.
– Over 1.5 million people have already registered for the presale through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program as of early November. Registration closed on November 9th.
– There are over 100,000 tickets listed on reseller sites like StubHub for the U.S. dates even before tickets go on sale, signalling demand from scalpers looking to resell at a profit.
– Social media posts about the tour are filled with fans strategizing about getting tickets and worrying about their chances. Related hashtags like #TSErasTour have hundreds of millions of views on TikTok showing the hype.
– Local news outlets in tour markets like the San Francisco Chronicle and Detroit Free Press have already written headlines expressing concerns over “SwiftMania” and stadiums being “stormed” when tickets go live.
The level of demand is reaching levels never seen before for an artist tour. Swift’s team recognizes this by using Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program to try to get tickets directly into real fans’ hands. But with over 1.5 million verified registrants and limited tour capacity, many will still miss out.
Factors Limiting Available Tickets
While Taylor Swift is playing massive stadiums on her Eras tour that can hold 50,000+ people, several inherent factors will limit the actual number of tickets available.
Some ticket supply constraints to consider:
– Swift is playing only 16 shows in North America. She will play two shows in most cities, but the tour is concentrated to major metro areas. Those not near a show will travel far and compete for tickets.
– Over half the seats in most stadiums will go to VIP packages, fan club presales, sponsor allotments etc. before the general public sale.
– The stage setup and elaborate production for Swift’s shows takes up significant stadium floor space. Her last tour had multiple stages and catwalks through the crowd.
– Seats will be removed for crew, equipment, and backstage access. Other areas are designated for ADA access.
– Only upper bowl seats may be available for some venues as Swift fans snatch up premium floor seats quickly.
Taking Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium as an example, its full capacity is over 70,000. But if Swift’s setup takes 15,000 seats on the floor, VIPs and presales take 20,000 more, over 40% of seats are gone before tickets go on sale. That leaves around 35,000 seats for nearly 2 million verified fans in the LA area to compete over.
Expected Ticket Prices
Given the mismatch between enormous demand and limited supply, Taylor Swift ticket prices for the Eras tour will be astronomical. Fans should be prepared to pay over 5x the typical cost for a concert ticket if buying on the secondary market.
Some average projected pricing estimates:
| Ticket Type | Estimated Price Range |
|---|---|
| Upfront VIP Packages | $500-$2000+ |
| Floor Seats | $500-$1000+ |
| Lower Bowl Seats | $300-$700 |
| Upper Bowl/Nosebleeds | $150-$400 |
| Resale Market Listings | $500-$5000+ |
These price ranges are 2-5x what Swift floor seats went for on her Reputation Tour in 2018. Fans can expect to pay a premium with tickets running from $150 on the low end up to $5000+ for reseller tickets and VIP upgrades. Even upper bowl nosebleed seats will start around $150-$200 each just due to demand.
Competition for good seats will be fierce. Pre-sales often sell out stadium floors first, leaving mostly upper sections for the public on-sale. It pays to invest more upfront for lower bowl, or wait and buy resale later when more inventory is available.
Strategies for Maximizing Your Odds
Given the long odds, what can Taylor Swift fans do to try and secure tickets at a reasonable price? Here are some tips and strategies:
– **Register for Presales** – Sign up at Ticketmaster for the Verified Fan presale as soon as it opens. Also join Swift’s fan club for access to that presale. This gets you early access before the general public.
– **Prep Registration Accounts** – Ensure your Ticketmaster, fan club, and credit card accounts are all updated with the latest info to avoid snags. Double check logins work ahead of time.
– **Team Up** – Coordinate with other fan friends or family to try for tickets together and increase odds. Use multiple devices.
– **Be Flexible** – Have a few date and city options in mind if your top choice sells out quickly. Look at nearby shows or weeknight dates.
– **Combo Tickets** – If you can afford it, buy floor or lower bowl seats and nosebleeds. Then resell the nosebleeds to offset costs.
– **Use Caution on Resale Sites** – Buy from trusted vendors with buyer guarantees in case tickets are fraudulent. Expect to pay high premiums.
– **Set Price Limits** – Have a smart budget in mind. Don’t overpay in the heat of the moment.
– **Try General Sale** – Keep trying even if presales don’t work out. Less competition at this stage.
– **Get on Waitlists/Alerts** – Sign up for reseller alerts for newly listed tickets. Price may drop over time.
– **See Multiple Shows** – Those buying tickets for multiple tour dates increase their overall odds.
While nothing can guarantee tickets with huge demand, using these tactics improves your chances and ensures you don’t overpay wildly due to emotions. Patience and persistence are key!
Example Ticket Buying Scenarios
To demonstrate how fans can take different approaches to getting Eras tickets, here are some hypothetical scenarios:
### The Presale Planner
Tammy in Detroit signs up immediately for the Ticketmaster Verified Fan presale when it opens. She ensures her account is ready to go and logs in 30 minutes before the presale time. At 10am, she is online ready to refresh and search for tickets. She quickly snags a pair of lower bowl seats for $375 each and checks out fast before they sell out.
### The Resale Buyer
Jacob in Los Angeles strikes out trying to buy floor seats during the presales. Rather than settle for upper deck seats for $200, he waits for the resale market inventory to increase later that week. He finds a pair of floor seats for $750 each, which is higher than face value but worth it to him to get close.
### The Fan Club Member
Emily in New York City joins Taylor Swift’s official fan club a month before tickets go on sale. This grants her access to an exclusive presale before the general public. During the fan club presale, she buys a pair of mid-level lower bowl seats for $425 each. As a fan club member, face value seats are still spendy but better than resale prices.
### The Budget Shopper
Alex in Phoenix wants to get any ticket he can just to be in the same stadium as Taylor. He logs on right at the general sale time along with millions of other fans. Most good seats are taken, but he manages to grab a pair of nosebleed seats for $150 each. More than he typically pays for concerts, but worth it given the circumstances.
### The Swiftie Network
Four friends in Los Angeles all try for tickets separately during the presales and general sale. Two strike out completely, one gets upper deck seats, and the other lands floor seats. They agree to pay the one who got floor seats and attend together, selling the upper deck tickets to offset their costs. Teamwork gets them better seats than going solo!
How Other Major Artists Compare
To understand just how unprecedented demand is for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, it’s illustrative to look at other top-selling artist tours in recent years. Swift is in a league of her own popularity-wise.
Here are some other top-grossing tours with estimated average resale ticket prices for major artists:
| Artist | Tour | Year | Average Resale Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rolling Stones | No Filter Tour | 2021 | $375 |
| Elton John | Farewell Yellow Brick Road | 2022 | $215 |
| Harry Styles | Love on Tour | 2022 | $350 |
| Bad Bunny | World’s Hottest Tour | 2022 | $400 |
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | Global Tour | 2022 | $130 |
You can see even legacy acts like The Rolling Stones fetch far lower resale prices than projections for Swift’s tour. Contemporary pop stars like Harry Styles and Bad Bunny command prices less than half of what buyers will likely pay for Swift. She is poised to shatter records with the Eras tour given immense, borderline rabid demand from her global fanbase.
How Ticketing Changes Could Impact Future Tours
The difficulties fans face getting Taylor Swift tickets raises larger issues around the concert ticketing industry and ethics around secondary sales. Several changes could come about to make buying tickets fairer and more transparent:
– **More artist presales** – Allowing registered users first access helps fight scalpers. This model could be expanded through more artist fan clubs.
– **Limits on initial purchases** – Capping how many tickets one user can buy originally cuts down on resellers. Some artists like Bruce Springsteen have implemented this.
– **Dynamic pricing models** – Similar to how airlines change fares, ticket prices for hot tours could adjust in real-time based on verified demand. Higher prices deter scalping.
– **Reseller caps** – Limits imposed by artists and venues on how much above face value resale tickets can be listed for on secondary markets. Creates a price ceiling for fans.
– **Resale fee disclosures** – Resellers may be required to clearly disclose exact fees upfront to avoid hidden costs. Creates pricing transparency.
– **Banning speculative listings** – Only allowing resellers to list tickets they are guaranteed to acquire could cut down on fake or phantom ticket listings that distort supply.
While no changes can eliminate ticket scarcity for the hottest tours, the industry is overdue for reforms that better balance artist interests, fan experience, and pricing fairness. New tour sale models that discourage rent-seeking and speculation should be explored. Taylor Swift’s 2023 tour will be the ultimate litmus test of current systems under unprecedented demand.
Conclusion
In summary, acquiring tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour will require immense luck and strategy. Fans face long odds competing against millions nationwide for a very limited supply in high-demand major metro areas. Expect to pay steep premiums, ranging from $150 for nosebleed seats to $1000+ for floor tickets and packages. Joining presales, teaming up with other fans, and closely monitoring resale markets are some tactics that can improve your chances. But nothing will guarantee tickets at face value in this environment. Swift’s popularity and scarcity of tour stops has made the Eras tour a veritable “Hunger Games” style fight for tickets. It’s anyone’s guess what diehard “Swifties” will pay to see their favorite artist back on stage. One thing is certain: records will be smashed as fans clamor for a coveted seat at Taylor’s history-making tour.
