Ticketmaster recently suspended ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras tour, causing widespread speculation that the tour had been canceled or postponed. However, Ticketmaster and Swift’s representatives have clarified that the tour is still scheduled to take place as planned in 2023. The presale event was halted due to extraordinarily high demand that overwhelmed Ticketmaster’s systems. While disappointing for Swift’s fans, this does not mean the Eras tour itself has been canceled.
What happened with the Eras tour presale?
Taylor Swift announced her Eras tour in November 2022, her first tour since 2018. The tour was scheduled to kick off in March 2023 in support of her new album Midnights. Due to exceptionally high interest, Ticketmaster held a presale event for verified fans on November 15, two days before the general public sale on November 18.
Over 3.5 million people pre-registered for the presale event, the largest registration in Ticketmaster’s history. However, the presale quickly turned into a fiasco. Fans reported widespread glitches and crashes on Ticketmaster’s website and app. Wait times extended up to 8 hours, and many were unable to purchase tickets.
After presale began, Ticketmaster announced it was pushing back sales for some West Coast shows due to “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems.” A short time later, the company announced all sales were suspended for the remainder of the day due to “insufficient remaining ticket inventory.”
No official numbers were provided, but multiple sources estimated over 2 million tickets were sold in presale before sales were paused. Ticketmaster apologized and cited “historically unprecedented demand” from millions of fans.
Did this cancel the tour?
Despite the presale issues, Swift’s Eras tour has not been canceled or postponed. Both Swift and Ticketmaster have confirmed that the tour dates are still in place.
In a statement, Ticketmaster said “based on the volume of traffic to our site, Taylor would need to perform over 900 stadium shows,” implying the demand – not lack of ticket inventory – was the driver behind suspending sales.
Swift posted on Instagram acknowledging how difficult it was for fans to get tickets and that she was “trying to figure out how this situation can be improved in the future.” However, she noted she was looking forward to seeing fans at the shows.
The rumors of cancellation stemmed from confusion over the presale being halted combined with the lack of clarity around reasons for the shutdown and remaining ticket availability. Once Swift and Ticketmaster provided more context, it became clear the tour itself was not in jeopardy.
What is contributing to the huge demand?
A confluence of factors led to unprecedented interest and demand for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour tickets:
– Swift’s popularity and rarity of touring – She is one of music’s biggest superstars with a massive global fanbase. Prior to the Eras tour announcement, her last tour was in 2018. Fans are eager to see her live after a long break.
– New album generating excitement – Midnights, released in October 2022, has been a huge critical and commercial success. It set a new record for most streamed album in a day upon release. The tour represents the first chance for fans to see Swift’s new music performed live.
– Limited number of shows – The Eras tour only spans 27 shows, all in stadiums. Swift typically would perform multiple shows in major cities during past tours. Fewer shows means scarcer tickets available for more fans.
– High ticket reseller demand – Ticket resellers likely attempted to buy large blocs during presale to profit by reselling at higher prices later. This created more competition for fans to get affordable face-value tickets.
– Growing fanbase – Swift has continuously grown her audience over her career. Younger generations who weren’t able to attend her past tours now have the opportunity.
Presale breakdown by city
Here is a breakdown of the presales held and suspended for each city on Taylor Swift’s Eras tour:
City | Presale date | Presale suspended? |
---|---|---|
Glendale, AZ | November 15 | Yes |
Las Vegas, NV | November 15 | Yes |
Arlington, TX | November 15 | Yes |
Houston, TX | November 15 | Yes |
Atlanta, GA | November 15 | Yes |
Tampa, FL | November 15 | Yes |
Nashville, TN | November 15 | Yes |
Philadelphia, PA | November 16 | Yes |
Foxborough, MA | November 16 | Yes |
East Rutherford, NJ | November 16 | Yes |
Chicago, IL | November 16 | Yes |
Pittsburgh, PA | November 17 | Postponed to Nov. 18 |
Minneapolis, MN | November 17 | Postponed to Nov. 18 |
Cincinnati, OH | November 17 | Postponed to Nov. 18 |
Indianapolis, IN | November 17 | Postponed to Nov. 18 |
Seattle, WA | November 17 | Postponed to Nov. 18 |
Santa Clara, CA | November 17 | Postponed to Nov. 18 |
Inglewood, CA | November 17 | Postponed to Nov. 18 |
Denver, CO | November 18 | To be determined |
Kansas City, MO | November 18 | To be determined |
Detroit, MI | November 18 | To be determined |
Louisville, KY | November 18 | To be determined |
As shown, the first 12 presales occurred as scheduled on November 15 and 16 before sales were suspended due to high demand. The next 6 presales were postponed a day to spread out traffic. The remaining 4 presales were still pending at the time of Ticketmaster’s announcement, with status to be determined.
Ticketmaster’s handling of the presale
Ticketmaster faced intense backlash from fans and scrutiny around their handling of the Eras presale event. Here are some of the key critiques:
– Poor preparedness for demand – Despite anticipating record traffic, Ticketmaster’s systems couldn’t handle the high volumes. Their technology and capacity should have been prepared.
– Lack of transparency – Ticketmaster did not communicate well about reasons for sales shutdown, inventory status, and problems fans were experiencing.
– Suspicious timing – Some speculated Ticketmaster deliberately shut down to drive scarcity and reseller demand. However, this is unproven.
– Unfair prioritization – Verified fan presale was supposed to prioritize Swift’s biggest supporters. But many longtime fans with presale codes couldn’t get tickets.
– Bot traffic – Ticketmaster has been criticized in the past for bot traffic eating up inventory. It’s unclear how big a role this played during the presale.
– Impact on general sale – With presale suspended due to lack of inventory, the odds look poor for fans hoping to still get tickets at general sale prices.
While Ticketmaster cited “unprecedented” demand, many still placed blame on the ticketing giant for technical failures and poor planning that marred the presale event. However, the root cause is still not fully clear.
Potential next steps
Now that the presale has concluded, here are some potential next steps around Taylor Swift’s Eras tour tickets:
– Ticketmaster communicates firm status of general ticket sale – It’s still TBD whether this will move forward on November 18 as planned following the presale inventory sell-out. More clarity is needed ASAP.
– Additional dates potentially added – To meet demand, Swift’s team may look to add more shows in certain cities where stadium availability allows.
– Swift and Ticketmaster address fan concerns – Both parties will hopefully engage with fans to explain in more detail what went wrong and improvements for the future.
– Review of Ticketmaster practices – Regulators may look closer at whether Ticketmaster’s systems, capacity planning, and anti-bot efforts are fully up to par.
– Legal action considered – Some frustrated fans may explore legal options around presale issues, such as class action lawsuits. But high burden of proof presents challenges.
– Reseller market takes advantage – Expect to see Eras tour tickets on secondary markets priced significantly above face value given the extreme demand.
For now, Taylor Swift remains committed to doing all originally scheduled Eras tour dates. But much uncertainty remains around the state of ticket availability and pricing heading into the official public sale date. Both Ticketmaster and Swift’s team have an opportunity to address fan concerns and increase transparency.
Conclusion
In summary, Ticketmaster did not technically cancel Taylor Swift’s Eras tour ticket sales altogether. The presale event was halted mid-process due to exceptionally high traffic that overwhelmed Ticketmaster’s systems. But the concerts themselves have not been canceled or postponed as of now. Both Swift and Ticketmaster have reiterated the show dates are still in place as planned.
That being said, the failed presale launch will severely limit broader fan access to affordable ticket prices. It appears unlikely that general ticket sale will proceed normally given presale inventory sell-outs. Ticketmaster’s handling of the presale and inability to meet demand has rightly angered and concerned Swift’s fans. Moving forward, Ticketmaster will need to address gaps in their ticketing systems and protocols that contributed to this unprecedented fiasco.
While the Eras tour remains on schedule, for the majority of Taylor Swift fans hopes have been dashed to see her perform live due to astronomical demand and extremely limited ticket availability at face value costs. This remains an evolving situation with many outstanding questions still unresolved. But despite rumors, as of this moment Taylor Swift’s much-anticipated tour has not actually been outright canceled or postponed.