Ticketmaster vs. Swifties

Ticketmaster+vs.+Swifties

Claire Weigus, Editor-in-Chief

This week, Ticketmaster has been the puppeteer controlling the determined Swifties’ ability to attend Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras tour. Although the majority of fans are attacking Ticketmaster for Tuesday’s incident, some fans question why Taylor Swift, herself, has yet to comment on this situation.

Ticketmaster is in deep waters with the passionate Swift fans, flooding social media with infuriated messages about Tuesday’s site crash, and the cancellation of tickets being offered for public sale on Friday. 

Through online posts about this situation, it is safe to say her fanbase ranges from people of all ages, lifestyles, and occupations, with even politician Alexandra Ocasio Cortez tweeting that: Ticketmaster is a “monopoly”. 

Taylor Swift’s audience’s love for her artistry led her newest album Midnights to acquire all 10 spots of the Billboard Hot 100, which has never been done before. 

Her Eras Tour, starting on March 17, 2023, is focused on her music’s evolution since the start of her career as she has been known for embodying different characters throughout each album, constructing Eras associated with each one.

Many albums have yet to be performed on tour by Taylor Swift including: Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights. This is mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The last time Swift went on tour was five years ago, performing her sixth album Reputation. So with the announcement of her Eras Tour, fans eagerly awaited for the tickets to go live.

This led to a high demand for tickets during Ticketmaster’s presale on Tuesday November 15, 2022, as well as, the website’s crash after the extravagant number of site viewers reaching 14 million, opposed to the 1.5 million that were originally supposed to purchase during this exclusive presale for verified members. The 2023 tour sold more than two million tickets in one day, setting a new single-day record.

Aggravated Tiktok users spammed the audios of Taylor Swift songs with hateful messages directed to Ticketmaster after not being able to secure themselves tickets due to this week’s incidents. 

“I am not just upset, I am ANGRY. Ticketmaster handled this horribly. i was a verified fan and had a boost and couldnt pass queue, i had a capital one card and the tickets were all gone when i got in for the persale. my last hope was tomorrow’s general onsale and now it’s canceled…so many other TRUE swifties have yet to get tickets. i am distraught, ” was written by the creator behind the Tik Tok account @sweeterthanfictionx where she was lip singing along to Taylor’s song about heartbreak “Right Where You Left Me”. These emotions expressed by fans can be seen paralleling Taylor Swift’s feelings in her songs about breakups and hardships. 

For some fans, it can be hard to decipher if Taylor’s relatable songs about lost love, or Ticketmaster’s ticket chaos, has left them with more sorrow and frustration.