Only 5% of Taylor Swift’s ‘Verified Fans’ were able to purchase a concert ticket through Ticketmaster on Tuesday.
Several months ago, Taylor Swift teamed up with Ticketmaster to launch a new program. The move ended up alienating a lot of dedicated fans.
The ‘Taylor Swift TIX powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan” program would allegedly help “get tickets into fans’ hands.” The program claimed to use an algorithm to verify if a buyer is a bot, a scalper, or a true fan.
Sounds like a great idea, right? Not according to fans, who immediately took to social media to blast the singer over how the program worked.
Here’s how the program supposedly worked.
Every buyer (scalper, bot, or fan) would first enter into a virtual line on Ticketmaster. But in order to guarantee your ticket to an upcoming Taylor Swift concert, you’d first have to prove that you’re a diehard fan.
How? First, you’d have to head to tickets.taylorswift.com. Then, through the site, you’d log in to your ticketmaster.com account.
Finally, after filling out a registration form, you’d then be asked to wait for upcoming tour dates to purchase your tickets.
Upon closer look, however, Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster offered a dubious way to “improve your position in line.”
To score a ‘Boost,’ you’d have to do one or more of the following:
(a) you could purchase merchandise from store.taylorswift.com
(b) you could pre-order Swift’s latest album, Reputation, or purchase the album at Target.com, Walmart.com, or on iTunes.
(c) Ticketmaster would also offer boosts for joining the singer’s official mailing list or watching specific Taylor Swift music videos.
After performing these steps, fans would receive a unique Order ID sent to their e-mail. Finally, they’d simply have to register the Order ID on their ticketmaster.com account and wait for a concert announcement.
Unsurprisingly, things didn’t exactly work out how Taylor Swift fans had expected.
Yesterday, tickets went on sale for Swift’s Reputation tour.
About an hour in, Ticketmaster told fans that the ticketing website was “experiencing a delay.” They also “purposely slowed code distribution to ensure the best purchasing experience for everyone.”
What caused the delay? According to Billboard, the ticketing platform giant only allowed “three people on average per concert.” The Reputation tour has 33 scheduled shows in North America.
Speaking with Billboard, Ticketmaster Head of Music, Davis Marcus, said,
“We can slow down the experience if people are taking longer to shop.”
According to the company, Ticketmaster spent the last few weeks “sorting through and organizing ticket buyers.” Around 180 people registered per hour during the 8-hour shopping window.
Marcus admitted that only 5% of people who enrolled in the Verified Fans Program were able to participate in yesterday’s sale.
Once fans purchase their tickets, new fans would have a shot at purchasing their tickets. Prices range from “$49.50 for upper-level seats” to $249.50 “for floor-level seats.” Several snake pit and VIP range between $800 and $1,500.
Some fans immediately took to Twitter to slam both the program and Taylor Swift. One tweeted,
“Tickets for the snake pit should be $800 minus the amount of times you watched Taylor eat cookie dough #TaylorSwiftTix.”
Despite the criticism, tour promoter Louis Messina seemed satisfied about the Verified Fan program.
“She is a game-changer and what she is doing is revolutionizing the way tickets are going to be sold in the future. By the time all the tickets are sold next week, I’ll [celebrate] Taylor’s birthday with a cocktail in my hand and sold-out concerts all over the world.”
Marcus assured Billboard that all fans in the program would eventually have the chance to purchase tickets. The ticketing platform giant estimates ticket sales of 2.5 million to 3 million.
“There’s a lot of tickets but a massive amount of demand. It’s bigger than any program we’ve ever seen here by multiples. The level of complexity we’re facing is extraordinary, but we’ve got war rooms and teams of people set up. We’re going to deliver an incredible experience for her fans and do something no one’s ever done.”
Featured image by suri.henderon (CC by 2.0)
Swift is a stone-cold pure revenue-maximizing businessperson who happens to be good at making music. She’s business first and the music is her business commodity. Everything she does is meticulously calculated to get as much revenue as possible.
Nothing illegal about that. I just don’t get why any grown-up fan/parent of fan would expect anything different. She’s been pure business for years and is only going to get more purely business as time goes on.
Agreed. She’s innovating, and these innovations will benefit other acts.
“Marcus admitted that only 5% of people who enrolled in the Verified Fans Program were able to participate in yesterday’s sale.”
Duh. That was the plan. These are the diehard fans who watched here videos 100s of times to “boost” their place in line. I didn’t have the time for this, so my spot was late in the second day of the presale. Not happy that all the floor seats left were VIP only at $450+, but I did get decent lower-bowl seats.
I’m grateful she gave us an opportunity to get tickets at face value! I’ve tried for many years and they always sell out immediately. Leaving my only option stub hub and other crooks. Many of us can’t afford those inflated prices. I’m so grateful to have tickets!!! My girls are going to be so happy on Christmas! Thank you Taylor!!
Got my tickets yesterday and the process was very easy. There were no delays. I had the option for a full range of tickets from the very front row to further back. I could not afford the $1,495 front row this year but was very happy with the $499 seats I chose and all of the options available to me. As a fan I very much appreciated the opportunity to get in front of the crowds (and bots). This is my 3rd Taylor concert and I am truly excited – She never disappoints! Her writing and performing drew me in, her outstanding business sense held me, her loyalty to her family, her fans and herself will keep me coming back!
Great to hear. I cant wait to get my tickets today.
I was able to do through my mobile and it was really easy. Completed in less than 3 minutes. The article above was debunked! Don’t spread lies about Taylor.
Hi. I participated in the program: not getting fully involved until October or early November. I got second day access and was sent a code when promised. I was willing to pay a lot more, but got decent floor seats for less than I was expecting. This is the first time that I have been able to get tickets before they sold out/ were too pricey. I am a “fan” of the verified fan! As a Swifitie since 2008, I am super excited!
Despite the criticism, tour promoter Louis Messina seemed satisfied about the Verified Fan program.
“She is a game-changer and what she is doing is revolutionizing the way tickets are going to be sold in the future. By the time all the tickets are sold next week, I’ll [celebrate] Taylor’s birthday with a cocktail in my hand and sold-out concerts all over the world.”
-Wonder if the Ticket promoter realizes how many tickets remain unsold. Like none of these venues are being sold out specifically due to the ridiculous prices. Taylor will be here in exactly 1 week and tons of tickets are still available in just about every section.
Digital Music News, a mouthpiece of stub hub, is not happy with what is happening with the Rep Stadium Tour.
My family has been to 3 previous TS tours and will go ro this tour as well. Bought 6 overpriced VIP floor seats for $3K (after jumping through all the hoops VIP tickets were all that were available during the ripoff presale). Plans changed and not able to attend. The tickets went unused – was not able to resale them – not even at leas than half what I paid. Loss $3k becuase of TS con job. My wife and kids still adore her, but TS qill never financially screw my family again.