Taylor Swift is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, with millions of devoted fans who are eager to see her perform live. However, as demand for Taylor Swift concert tickets continues to dramatically outpace supply, prices have skyrocketed to astronomical levels that have left many fans frustrated and priced out.
Some key questions arise around the soaring ticket prices: Why are Taylor Swift tickets so expensive? What is driving the incredibly high resale ticket prices? And what can be done to make Taylor Swift shows more affordable for fans? This article will explore the factors at play in the high demand environment for Taylor Swift tickets.
Taylor Swift’s Popularity and Limited Tour Dates
Taylor Swift has been one of the most popular artists in music for over a decade. She has cultivated a massive global fanbase through her chart-topping albums and singles, popular world tours, and strong social media presence. She has over 200 million followers across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Beyond just having a large fanbase, Taylor Swift fans tend to be extremely passionate and devoted to her. Many fans want to see Taylor Swift perform live multiple times if possible. However, in recent years, Taylor has done less touring than she did earlier in her career. For example, her most recent tour for her “Reputation” album ran from 2018-2019 and had only 53 shows. Her previous “1989” tour from 2015-2016 had 85 shows.
This combination of huge demand and limited supply of tour dates is the perfect recipe for high ticket prices. With millions of fans vying for a small number of concert tickets, prices are bound to be driven up, especially given how dedicated Taylor’s fans are.
Taylor Swift Tour Dates and Locations
Tour | Year | Number of Shows |
---|---|---|
Fearless Tour | 2009-2010 | 97 |
Speak Now Tour | 2011-2012 | 110 |
Red Tour | 2013-2014 | 66 |
1989 Tour | 2015-2016 | 85 |
Reputation Tour | 2018-2019 | 53 |
As the table shows, Taylor played over 100 shows for her Speak Now and 1989 tours. However, her most recent tours for Reputation and Red had 50-60% fewer shows. The limited number of concerts intensifies demand further.
Lack of Ticket Purchase Limits
Unlike some other major tours and concerts, there are typically no ticket purchase limits enforced for Taylor Swift shows. This allows ticket brokers, resellers, and superfans to purchase large quantities of tickets.
The lack of ticket limits means the initial on-sale of tickets is dominated by these large-scale purchasers, leaving fewer tickets available for the everyday fan trying to buy just 2-4 tickets. It also increases the number of tickets that end up being resold at highly inflated prices on secondary markets. Implementing ticket purchase limits would help get more tickets directly into the hands of fans.
Taylor Swift Fans Willing to Pay Higher Prices
Die-hard Taylor Swift fans have shown a willingness to pay exceptionally high prices to see her in concert. Below are some real examples of crazy high ticket prices that Taylor Swift fans paid:
Tour | Year | Ticket Price |
---|---|---|
Reputation Tour | 2018 | $99,500 for 2 floor seats in NYC |
1989 Tour | 2015 | $25,000 for front row seats in LA |
Red Tour | 2013 | $15,000 for VIP package in Nashville |
These outrageous amounts go to show the intense demand from wealthy superfans who will stop at nothing to get the best Taylor Swift tickets. This also raises prices across the board.
Limited Competition Among Ticket Sellers
The primary ticket seller for Taylor Swift shows is Ticketmaster. Swift’s last several tours have partnered exclusively with Ticketmaster. This means they are the only authorized primary ticket source.
Having just a single primary ticket seller reduces competition in ticket availability and pricing. More competition between ticket sellers would likely make tickets more affordable.
Ticketmaster has also been accused of conflicts of interest, since they own secondary resale sites like TicketsNow. This can incentivize Ticketmaster to allow large ticket resellers to snap up huge quantities for resale. Increased competition in the primary ticket market could help avoid these problems.
High Demand for Resale Tickets
As noted earlier, demand for Taylor’s tickets far exceeds the limited number of seats available in stadiums and arenas on her tour stops.
This creates a ripe environment for ticket scalpers and resellers to take advantage of fans’ desperation to get tickets by charging astronomical markups. Some quick stats:
- Her Reputation Tour had average resale ticket prices around $600, more than 8X the initial face value.
- On StubHub, over 95% of Swift’s Reputation Tour ticket listings were priced above $200.
- Many floor and front row seats were priced from $1,500 to $10,000 on secondary markets.
These exorbitant secondary market prices demonstrate just how much some fans are willing to shell out to see Taylor perform. As long as demand so dramatically exceeds supply, resale prices will remain sky-high.
Example Ticket Listing Prices for Swift’s Upcoming Tour
City | Venue | Section | Initial Price | Current Resale Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles | SoFi Stadium | Floor | $250 | $2000 |
Dallas | AT&T Stadium | Lower Level Side | $150 | $850 |
Chicago | Soldier Field | 100 Level | $125 | $500 |
These resale prices on StubHub and other secondary markets demonstrate the huge premiums being charged due to intense demand. Fans are paying many multiples above initial face value prices.
Swift’s Net Worth and Career Earnings
Taylor Swift has amassed enormous wealth and career earnings as one of music’s top global superstars. She has a current estimated net worth of $550 million.
Some key figures on Swift’s massive career earnings:
- Her ‘Reputation’ stadium tour grossed $266 million from 2018-2019, a record for a US tour by a female artist.
- She earned $185 million pretax on touring and music between 2016 and 2017.
- Her 2017 ‘Reputation’ album release in 2017 sold over 2 million copies.
- She has endorsement deals with brands like UPS, AT&T, and Diet Coke worth tens of millions per year.
- Between 2010 and 2019 she earned over $360 million in music and tour revenue.
Given Swift’s massive commercial success and fortune earned from her music, she likely does not strictly need to charge such high ticket prices to turn huge profits on touring. However, as long as the demand supports those prices, high ticket costs will persist.
Strategies to Get Cheaper Taylor Swift Tickets
While inexpensive Taylor Swift tickets are extremely hard to come by, here are some tips and strategies that may help improve your odds:
- Get on theverified fan presale – This gives fans early access to purchase tickets directly through Ticketmaster at initial face value prices before brokers scoop them up.
- Buy upper level or rear sections – The worst seats in the house will always be the cheapest options.
- Wait until last minute – Prices often drop in the final hours as resellers slash prices to clear unsold inventory.
- Buy single tickets – Single seats tend to be cheaper than pairs.
- Avoid major markets – Prices are lower in smaller secondary markets away from the biggest cities.
- Follow fan exchange groups – Fans will sometimes resell extra tickets at face value prices to fellow fans.
However, there are no guarantees of scoring cheap Swift tickets given the intense demand. But those strategies can help improve your odds. The best bet may be the get pre-sale code access.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Taylor Swift ticket prices have skyrocketed due to extremely limited tour dates and concert supply combined with effectively limitless fan demand. With Swift’s massive popularity but restricted tour schedules, huge demand chasing little ticket availability is creating a perfect environment for exorbitant ticket prices. These factors provide little incentive for prices to come down in the resale market as long as people will pay the astronomical prices. Some better primary market controls and distribution could help the prices, but the reality is that as long as millions of fans are desperate to see Swift in concert, tickets will remain out of reach for average fans. It reflects the unique and intense loyalty of Taylor Swift fans that so many are willing to pay truly insane amounts of money to see her perform live.