Thousands of Taylor Swift fans were left disappointed when Ticketmaster abruptly canceled the general public sale of tickets to the “Eras” tour
The disastrous presale was only the beginning. After days of fans complaining about website crashes, glitches, and other complications while trying to get tickets for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour, Ticketmaster abruptly announced that general public tickets, which were set to go on sale today, are no longer available.
“Due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand, tomorrow’s public on-sale for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour has been cancelled,” the company wrote in a tweet.
Due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand, tomorrow's public on-sale for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour has been cancelled.
— Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) November 17, 2022
No further information has been given, leaving thousands of fans wondering if there are any tickets left, and if more will go on sale at any point.
The presale for tickets started on Tuesday, when fans who received a “Verified Fan” code from Ticketmaster could access early tickets. But many complained that they got stuck in virtual waiting rooms or experienced glitches that prevented them from purchasing their tickets. Shortly before canceling the general public sale, Ticketmaster released a statement that explained some of the reasons for the issues fans had been experiencing nearly all week.
“The Eras on sale made one thing clear: Taylor Swift is an unstoppable force and continues to set records,” the company said in a press release on Thursday. “We strive to make ticket buying as easy as possible for fans, but that hasn’t been the case for many people trying to buy tickets for the Eras Tour.”
The company said that more than 3.5 million people registered for the chance to receive a presale code. Of those, about 1.5 million received codes, and many others were put on a waiting list. The presale codes require fans to prove their identity to gain access to ticket presales, a measure intended to prevent bots from buying large quantities of tickets to resell at higher prices.
“Historically, around 40% of invited fans actually show up and buy tickets, and most purchase an average of 3 tickets,” Ticketmaster said. However, the site added, many more showed up for the presale for Swift’s shows. So did a large number of bots, and fans who hadn’t received presale codes, but tried to join the queue anyway.
During the chaos, Swift’s fans took to social media to air their complaints and frustrations.
Ticketmaster is like “we’ve hidden five Taylor Swift tickets in chocolate bars located across the world GOOD LUCK”
— Rakesh Satyal (@rakeshsatyal) November 17, 2022
me trying to figure out how ticketmaster wasn’t prepared for the demand for Taylor Swift tickets when they sent out the codes themselves to control a certain amount of people entering the presale #TheErasTour pic.twitter.com/gx3fI2aNwj
— Sarah (@sarahcorneyy) November 15, 2022
me attending taylor swift’s tour in 2050 after fighting against ticketmaster for 30 years pic.twitter.com/1yGjftYnvA
— ami is a tortured poet (@amitoowell131) November 17, 2022
The Taylor Swift ticket presale is proof that the hunger games could actually happen in real life
— Abi (@abiwilk_) November 15, 2022
Meanwhile, tickets are already popping up on resale sites — some for over $20,000 apiece.
There’s still no word on whether Ticketmaster — or Taylor Swift herself — plans to address this, or make things right for fans who have waited their turn.
