It’s Me, Ticketmaster, Hi, I’m The Problem, It’s Me
The Story Behind Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” Ticketmaster Fiasco
By Sydney Burke, Social Media Editor
On Nov. 15, 2022, Taylor Swift fans anxiously awaited tickets for The Eras Tour to go on sale, but issues with Ticketmaster’s website led to millions of disappointed fans and possible solutions for the upcoming hearings.
Many fans turned to social media to share their frustration when attempting to buy tickets, saying they were hoping to see Swift perform for the first time in five years, but the website crashed and they were unable to make a purchase.
Ticketmaster later released a statement saying that 15% of fans who attempted to buy tickets with verified fan presale codes experienced some sort of issue.
“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 Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour,” Ticketmaster said in its statement.
Due to the high demand for tickets during the presale, the company was forced to cancel its general sale.
“At one point they had to pause the entire line because of the crazy amounts of people,” said junior Gretchen Lembcke-Pena, a long-time Swiftie who was able to purchase tickets for Swift’s Tampa show in April for her and her sister. “Maybe an hour and a half went by before they resumed the line, and we were there for two and a half hours more.”
Although her experience may not have been great, Lembcke-Pena is one of the fortunate fans. In December 2022, a lawsuit was filed by dozens of Swifties against Ticketmaster in the L.A. County Superior Court following their poor experiences on the site. The lawsuit accuses Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, of antitrust violations and fraudulent practices.
On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the Ticketmaster fiasco. Democrats and Republicans put their political differences aside to raise awareness about the issue and consider legislative solutions for the issue. Senators like Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mike Lee (R-UT) and others were heard quoting Swift lyrics throughout the hearing.
As for a solution to make purchasing high-demand tickets easier, it is hard to think of a simple one.
“I feel like it has to be up to the Senate and whatever they decide to do,” said Lembcke-Pena.
Not only is accessibility to tickets an issue Senate needs to consider, so is the price of tickets.
“We’re working on bipartisan legislation on that with some basic disclosures and some common-sense rules” said Klobuchar.
Although the Senate may not have many ideas for solutions yet, Swifties and music fans all over the world anxiously await the outcome.
