In November 2022, Taylor Swift announced her first tour in 5 years, called The Eras Tour. The tour was highly anticipated by Swift’s massive fanbase, with Ticketmaster reporting record-breaking demand for tickets. However, the ticket sale was plagued by major technical issues on Ticketmaster’s website and apps, preventing many fans from purchasing tickets.
This led to public outrage against Ticketmaster for their lack of preparedness to handle the demand. Many are calling for investigations into Ticketmaster’s dominance in the ticketing industry. The fiasco has renewed a long-running feud between Swift and Ticketmaster that stems from several incidents over the singer’s career.
What caused the Ticketmaster meltdown for Taylor Swift’s tour?
According to Ticketmaster, the site received over 3.5 billion total system requests on November 15, the day of the Verified Fan presale. This is 4x their previous peak of 1.5 billion.
For Taylor Swift’s tour, Ticketmaster used a Verified Fan system, requiring fans to pre-register for a chance to get a code for buying tickets. Over 3.5 million people pre-registered, the largest registration in Ticketmaster’s history.
On sale day, Ticketmaster issued codes over time in waves to manage demand. However, fans reported widespread glitches preventing ticket purchases:
- Fans with codes could not access the queue to purchase tickets due to site outages
- Fans who accessed the queue got error messages when selecting seats
- “Tickets are no longer available” messages, even at the very start of sales
Ticketmaster cited their site struggling to handle “horrific traffic” as the reason for these issues.
What was the public reaction to the Ticketmaster issues?
Swift’s fans and the general public directed their outrage mainly towards Ticketmaster over the sales debacle:
- #TaylorSwiftTixGate trended on Twitter, with fans complaining about wasting hours trying to buy tickets
- A Change.org petition calling for an investigation of Ticketmaster has over 30,000 signatures
- Politicians including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ted Cruz criticized Ticketmaster
- Multiple state attorneys general announced investigations into Ticketmaster
Many are accusing Ticketmaster of prioritizing scalpers and VIP packages over average fans. A New York Times analysis found very few standard tickets available on resale sites like StubHub shortly after sales began.
There is also widespread scrutiny around Ticketmaster’s dominance in ticketing. They sell tickets for over 70% of major concert venues in the US after their merger with Live Nation in 2010.
What issues between Swift and Ticketmaster led up to this?
While the tour ticket fiasco brought unprecedented attention, there is significant history of tension between Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster:
1989 Tour Controversy
In 2015, Ticketmaster faced criticism over exclusive ticket presales for Swift’s 1989 Tour. Many fans were frustrated that the best tickets were not available in the general Verified Fan presale.
In response, Swift’s team highlighted “contractual obligations” with Ticketmaster over allocations for presales. But she vowed to be more transparent for future tours.
Reputation Tour Ticket Scalping
In 2018, Ticketmaster again received backlash during sales for Swift’s Reputation Tour. Just minutes after presales began, many tickets appeared available on resale sites for over 10x their original price.
Ticketmaster claimed they “do not have the ability to control ticket resale pricing” and recommended legislation to curb scalping. But critics argued the company enables scalping through their resale subsidiary Ticketmaster Resale.
Lover Fest Cancellation
In 2020, Swift had to cancel her Lover Fest tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ticketmaster refused refunds and would only offer credit or rescheduled dates.
Swift again had to respond to fan complaints about Ticketmaster’s policies being unfair. While she negotiated for refunds, Ticketmaster only agreed to partial refunds for the canceled dates.
Ongoing Antitrust Concerns
| Year | Action |
|---|---|
| 2009 | U.S. Department of Justice allowed Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger, despite antitrust concerns |
| 2016 | Swift voiced opposition to Ticketmaster’s growing monopoly in a Wall Street Journal op-ed |
| 2021 | Swift praised DOJ review possibly unwinding the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger |
For over a decade, Swift has been critical of Ticketmaster’s anti-competitive practices and lack of alternatives for artists and fans.
How did Ticketmaster respond to the Eras Tour backlash?
Ticketmaster has issued several statements attempting to explain what went wrong with the Eras Tour on sale:
- They “underestimated” exceptional demand for Swift, despite their Verified Fan system
- Bots across multiple sites drove unprecedented traffic, disrupting real buyer access
- 3.5 billion system requests 4x above peak “truly unprecedented demand” that caused site crashes
Ticketmaster also shifted blame onto the Swift team. They claimed Swift’s team was “inconsistent” on when tickets would be available to the public after presales. This allegedly caused “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems.”
Additionally, Ticketmaster issued an update that “over 2 million tickets were sold” for the Eras Tour on November 15. They touted this as “the most tickets ever sold for an artist in a single day.”
However, Swift’s team rebutted that Ticketmaster’s statements were “unequivocally false.” Her team said they were originally informed only 1 million fans would have access to presale codes, contradicting Ticketmaster’s claims of 3.5 million registrations.
What are the ongoing impacts from the ticketing fiasco?
The fallout from the Ticketmaster meltdown is likely to be significant and long-lasting:
Government Action
In addition to state-level probes, the ticketing issues have renewed scrutiny of Ticketmaster in Washington:
- Senators Amy Klobuchar and Mike Lee, chair of the antitrust panel, expressed concern over Ticketmaster’s power in the industry
- Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bill Pascrell called for breaking up Ticketmaster’s monopoly
- The Biden administration and FTC are monitoring the situation closely
There will likely be Congressional hearings into Ticketmaster’s practices and further antitrust action.
Artist and Fan Dissatisfaction
The Swift tour backlash added to ongoing outrage among music artists and fans toward Ticketmaster’s conduct:
- Bruce Springsteen recently criticized Ticketmaster’s “monopolistic practices” and exorbitant service fees
- Other major artists like Adele, Paul McCartney, and Blink-182 have called out Ticketmaster
- Fans demand more transparency on fees and access to primary tickets at original prices
More artists may seek alternatives to Ticketmaster for touring going forward. There will also likely be class action lawsuits from fans over the Swift tour issues.
Industry Shakeup
The Ticketmaster controversy could catalyze greater competition in the live event ticketing business:
- Rival ticketing platforms like AXS, SeatGeek, Dice are seizing the moment to grab market share
- Blockchain-based ticketing platforms are promoting fairer access for fans
- Calls for venues, promoters, and artists to break away from Ticketmaster
While Ticketmaster still dominates currently, their position could be weakened if partners pull away amid ongoing backlash.
Conclusion
The disastrous sale of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour tickets is the culmination of decades of mistrust between the singer and Ticketmaster. System failures leaving millions ticketless unleashed intense criticism of Ticketmaster’s ongoing market dominance.
Moving forward, Ticketmaster is likely to face major challenges from consumer lawsuits, artists defecting, rising competitor platforms, and stepped-up government antitrust action. The fiasco could become a turning point in disrupting Ticketmaster’s longstanding grip over event ticketing.
