Taylor Swift on her “1989” tour in 2015.

Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons

By Audrey Huynh

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – Outraged fans react after Ticketmaster announces cancellation of Taylor Swift’s upcoming “The Eras” tour general public ticket sale, having sold all their tickets in a disastrous presale.

On Nov. 1, Swift announced her fifth concert tour, “The Era”, on Good Morning America and via social media posts. Presale tickets began on Nov. 15, only available to those who own an eligible Capital One credit or debit card as well as verified fans on Ticketmaster. The general public sale, which is available to everyone, was set to start on Nov. 18.

Ticketmaster is a booking platform where fans can purchase passes to concerts by a wide variety of artists. Best known as the monopoly of ticket selling, the power Ticketmaster possesses comes from a 2010 merger with a similar platform, Live Nation. Before the merger, Ticketmaster and Live Nation were some of the largest names in the ticketing industry. To avoid directly competing with each other, both companies merged to form Live Nation Entertainment, which Ticketmaster currently operates under. 

However, shortly after presale tickets began on the morning of Nov. 15, Ticketmaster began presenting problems to Swift’s followers. The site continuously crashed and several fans were subject to lengthy queues, some of which lasted hours. The first day of presale tickets ended with a vast majority of the Swift enthusiasts walking away empty-handed and disappointed. The second and third days followed in a similar manner.

Many dismayed supporters relied on the Friday general public sale as a last resort. However, following Thursday’s sales, Ticketmaster released a statement, announcing the cancellation of Friday’s planned sales due to running out of stock. Outrage immediately sparked among those who didn’t participate in the presale. Several of Swift’s followers took to social media, slamming Ticketmaster and saying they were robbed of a chance to see their idol because of the company’s mishandling. 

Following the cancellation, Ticketmaster released another statement on their website, revealing that all 2.4 million tickets were sold during the duration of the presale. However, a reported staggering total of 14 million people were on the website, all attempting to purchase tickets.

Swift released her own statement via Instagram on Friday afternoon. The singer-songwriter wrote, “I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could.”

An anonymous Silver Creek freshman who walked away disappointed and without tickets says, “I didn’t land any tickets during the presale, which was disheartening, but I had the general sale as a last resort. I thought that I would for sure get some on Friday but then [Ticketmaster] went and canceled it, so I guess my spring break is free now.”

One sophomore expresses, “I was interested in going to one of her future concerts, but if all her ticket sales are like this one then forget it.”

“The Eras” is set to kick off on March 17, 2023, and conclude on Aug. 9, 2023. International tour dates and locations have not yet been announced. Swift confirmed seven dates in California, two in Santa Clara, and five in Inglewood.

Tags: Taylor Swift, Swifties, The Eras, Tour, concert tour, Ticketmaster, tickets, fans, Live Nation Entertainment, Live Nation, ticket seller, sold out, Capital One, social media, schs, Silver Creek High School