Taylor Swift recently announced her Eras Tour, her first tour since 2018. As one of the world’s biggest pop stars, demand for Taylor Swift concert tickets is always incredibly high. So when tickets went on sale for the Eras Tour on November 15, it was no surprise that many fans struggled to get tickets.
How popular is Taylor Swift?
With over 200 million records sold worldwide, Taylor Swift is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She has won 11 Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, 29 American Music Awards and 40 Billboard Music Awards. Her last tour, the Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018, broke the record for the highest-grossing tour by a woman. It topped $266 million in revenue after 53 sold-out shows.
Swift has a massive global fanbase who call themselves “Swifties”. She is one of the most followed people on social media, with over 230 million followers on Instagram and 90 million on Twitter. She was the most streamed female artist on Spotify in both 2020 and 2021. All this indicates huge demand for concert tickets whenever Swift announces a tour.
Ticket sales process for the Eras Tour
Registration for TaylorSwiftTix presale tickets started in mid-October. Fans who wanted access to presale tickets needed to register by November 9. Swift’s team used Verified Fan to try to ensure that real fans got access to tickets, not scalpers or bots.
The presale on November 15 was only open to fans who received a presale code via Verified Fan. Tickets went on sale for the general public on November 18. Most shows are using Ticketmaster, although some dates are using other vendors like AXS or SeatGeek.
How quickly did Eras Tour tickets sell out?
Most Eras Tour shows sold out rapidly, within minutes or even seconds. This applied to both the presale and general on-sale. Some key stats:
- Capital One cardholder presale: Sold out in under 5 minutes
- Verified Fan presale: Sold out in under 15 minutes
- General on-sale: Sold out in under 2 minutes for many shows
This overwhelming demand meant that many fans were unable to get tickets, even if they had access to presales. Queue times ran into hours and many people got tickets plucked from their carts or were stuck in long virtual waiting lines.
Which shows sold out quickest?
By all accounts, the Los Angeles shows at SoFi Stadium on August 4-5 seem to have sold out quickest. The Verified Fan presale for LA sold out in around 90 seconds. For the general on-sale, over 2 million people were queued on Ticketmaster for the LA shows. All dates of the tour sold out quickly, but Los Angeles and some other major cities like Chicago and New York seemed to have the highest demand.
How many tickets were available?
Exact ticket counts are not publicly shared. However, we can estimate the number of tickets available based on the size of the venues Swift is playing:
Venue | Capacity |
---|---|
SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles) | 70,000-100,000 |
Lumen Field (Seattle) | 72,000 |
Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara) | 75,000 |
Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia) | 69,000 |
Soldier Field (Chicago) | 61,500 |
Gillette Stadium (Boston) | 65,000 |
Most stadiums on the tour can hold 50,000-100,000 people. With over 50 dates scheduled, a rough estimate would be at least 2.5 million tickets available in total.
How many people were trying to get tickets?
There are no exact numbers on how many people tried to buy Eras Tour tickets, but we can extrapolate based on some stats:
- Over 3.5 million people registered for Verified Fan presale
- Over 14 million people got special presale codes
- Hundreds of thousands lined up online at each on-sale
- Tour could potentially reach 4-6 million total attendees based on number of shows and venue sizes
Rough estimates would suggest maybe 10+ million people tried to get tickets across the various sales. This massive demand compared to the 2.5 million or so tickets available is why so many fans got shut out.
What percent of demand was met?
Based on the above demand estimates, only around 25-30% of people who wanted tickets were likely successful in securing them. For context, here are some similar statistics from other recent tour on-sales:
- Harry Styles “Love on Tour”: 10% of people got tickets
- Bad Bunny “World’s Hottest Tour”: 16% success rate
- Red Hot Chili Peppers 2023 tour: 20% success rate
So at 25-30%, the number of Eras Tour tickets sold versus total demand was relatively high compared to other top tours. But still, about 70-75% of people who wanted tickets couldn’t get them.
Key reasons for short supply
Why couldn’t the Eras Tour meet more demand? A few key factors:
- High registration: Over 14 million Verified Fan codes were issued, far above availability.
- Bots and scalpers: Large volume purchases scooped up tickets despite anti-scalping measures.
- StubHub resales: Nearly 350,000 tickets were on StubHub shortly after on-sale.
- Venue capacities: Stadiums can only hold 50-100k people.
In short, the millions of real fans far exceeded the limited capacities, while bots and resellers also claimed a share.
Prices on the resale market
With so many fans desperate for tickets, prices on resale sites soared:
- The average resale price across the tour exceeded $1000 per ticket.
- Some front row seats were priced at over $10,000.
- Even upper deck nosebleed tickets were going for $200-$400 in many cases.
These exorbitant secondary market prices meant tickets were completely unaffordable for many average fans. Still, huge demand has driven constant sellouts even at inflated prices.
How did ticket prices compare to face values?
Below were the face value price ranges, before fees:
- Standard tickets: $49-$449
- VIP packages: $199-$899
- Enhanced experience: $199-$999
Many platinum-priced tickets ended up around $800-$1500 after Ticketmaster dynamic pricing. Overall, resale prices were typically 5-10x the original face values. This has made tickets only viable for wealthy fans.
Likelihood of getting tickets later
Is there still a chance for fans who missed out to get Eras Tour tickets later? There are a few options:
- Last minute ticket releases: Venues sometimes release hold-back inventory.
- Scalper price drops: Prices usually dip right before shows.
- Verified resale: Fans resell via Ticketmaster at capped prices.
- Additional shows: More concerts may be added in high-demand areas.
However, these opportunities will likely remain very limited. Huge demand will persist for any tickets that become available in the coming months.
Will dynamic pricing be used again?
Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” model used market-based pricing for Eras Tour platinum tickets. This resulted in some $1500+ ticket prices, even at upper levels. Unsurprisingly, dynamic pricing has received heavy backlash from fans and politicians alike.
Some federal and state officials have already promised legislation to ban the practice. New York congressman Paul Tonko introduced the BOSS Act to outlaw variable ticket pricing just days after the Swift on-sale chaos.
Whether Ticketmaster continues dynamic pricing for future tours remains to be seen. But the fan and political pressure applied by the Eras on-sale debacle makes its future questionable.
Changes fans want to see
In the wake of their ticket buying struggles, Swifties have suggested some changes:
- More tour dates at smaller venues
- Lower ticket prices and fees
- Restricting serial scalpers from buying significant inventory
- Capping resale prices to face value
- Transparency around number of tickets available
- Better queue systems and anti-bot protection
Some of these are tricky without new laws or regulations. But fans clearly want fairer access to face-value tickets, even if it means smaller shows.
Is a second North American leg likely?
Given the extreme ticket demand, many speculate Swift will announce a second North American stint for 2023. She could potentially follow the blueprint of her Reputation Stadium Tour:
- Reputation had 37 shows over 7 months from May-November 2018.
- The tour then resumed May-October 2019 for 21 more North American dates.
If Swift did something similar, she could tour Europe first, then return in late 2023 for more North American cities. This would give a second chance for fans who couldn’t get tickets this time around.
Conclusion
The Eras Tour ticket on-sale was an unprecedented frenzy, even by Swift’s standards. While 25-30% of demand was met, millions were still left empty-handed. The chances to get tickets later will be limited at best. Dynamic pricing and scalpers drove costs through the roof, locking out many loyal fans.
The outrage seems likely to spur real ticketing industry changes, although progress tends to move slowly. A second North American tour leg in 2023 is also plausible. But the gap between demand for Taylor Swift tickets and available supply remains astronomical. This means seeing the Eras Tour in person will remain a distant dream for a great many Swifties.