Julia Campbell thought her chances of seeing Taylor Swift on her upcoming tour were slim to none after experiencing an overwhelming Ticketmaster presale brimmed with crashes and delays on Nov. 15.
A new ticket-buying opportunity from the ticket-selling giant has given the Ottawa-based fan some optimism.
After many fans who supposedly received priority access from Swift’s team (Taylor Nation) to tickets like Campbell could not buy tickets in the November presale, Ticketmaster and Taylor Nation offered these fans a unique second-chance ticket-buying experience.
Fans who initially received “boosts” to have priority access to tickets were staggeringly sent emails from Ticketmaster starting Dec. 12, allowing them to request to buy tickets to the Eras Tour.
In the email, Ticketmaster stated, “You were identified as a fan who received a boost during the Verified Fan presale but did not purchase tickets. We apologize for the difficulties you may have experienced and have been asked by Taylor’s team to create this additional opportunity for you to purchase tickets.”
Fans who received the email requested tickets by selecting their preferred price range (from $49-$450 USD). Ticketmaster selected seats in these price ranges to offer to fans like Campbell, who filled out the request form.
Campbell, who initially was not able to purchase tickets, was able to buy eighth-row floor seats to one of Taylor’s upcoming shows in East Rutherford, N.J.
“I think (the request-to-buy system) was a better system for keeping out the bots in that they actually issued the emails only to people that were supposed to have boosts because they’d had either previous concert tickets or had bought (Midnights, Swift’s latest album) from Taylor’s merchandise store,” Campbell said.
Some fans could have had more pleasant experiences with the system.
A few took to Twitter to voice concerns about errors with processing payments, barring them from the chance to buy tickets:
https://twitter.com/jade_swift_13/status/1605954313926234114?s=61&t=8v7OvY08WnB0dCjgKxoWjg
Other fans did not get the opportunity to buy second-chance tickets in the first place.
Christy Garn spent eight hours in line on Ticketmaster for Taylor Swift tickets on Nov. 15. She and her daughter, Nicole, ended up getting upper-level tickets to the June 23 show in Minneapolis, MN.
The pair bought tickets through another friend’s Ticketmaster account, as neither received a Verified Fan presale code.
Additionally, neither of them received “boosts” or priority access from Taylor Nation. So, they could not buy tickets through Ticketmaster’s second chance buying system.
“You could get really lucky or you could get really unlucky,” Nicole said of the new system. “I think it’s just putting a lot of trust into Ticketmaster, and I don’t trust Ticketmaster.” She refers to fans who were not selected for tickets in the system or were faced with payment issues.
Nicole’s mother, Christy, pointed out that ticket-buying processes were simpler for Swift’s 2018 tour, The Reputation Tour, which the pair attended. Fans were given ticket boosts based on activities like watching music videos and buying albums.
“It was almost like instant, like as soon as we signed in, we got in and were able to get tickets right away based on where we were in the lineup,” she recalled.
It is unclear if Ticketmaster will implement these sorts of extra-ticket opportunities for future concerts.
Ticketmaster and Universal Music Group were reached out to by INK, but both were unavailable for comment.
Featured Image: Nicole and Christy Garn with Taylor Swift at the Reputation Stadium Tour in Minneapolis on August 31, 2018. Photo: Nicole Garn
