Taylor Swift fans were left questioning after thousands of fans were stuck in queues for hours, others lost their places in line due to technical glitches and inventory was left so low that general public sales were canceled following a presale event for the singer's upcoming "The Eras Tour" this week.
So what exactly happened?
Ticketmaster sought to clarify the details behind the saga that had so many fans disappointed this week.
"The Eras on sale made one thing clear: Taylor Swift is an unstoppable force and continues to set records. We strive to make ticket buying as easy as possible for fans, but that hasn’t been the case for many people trying to buy tickets for the Eras Tour," Ticketmaster wrote in a blog post Thursday.
The site said that its "verified fan" registration program is designed to amplify real human accounts for ticketing and weed out bots, making for smoother sale events, but fans will note that Tuesday's presale was anything but smooth.
The company noted that it invited 1.5 million people to participate in an on sale event for the upcoming stadium tour, which includes a stop in Chicago. Another 2 million so-called "verified fans" were put on a waiting list.
"Historically, working with Verified Fan invite codes has worked as we’ve been able to manage the volume coming into the site to shop for tickets. However, this time the staggering number of bot attacks as well as fans who didn’t have invite codes drove unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests – 4x our previous peak," the company said. "Never before has a Verified Fan on sale sparked so much attention – or uninvited volume. This disrupted the predictability and reliability that is the hallmark of our Verified Fan platform."
Tuesday's presale event left millions of fans waiting in queues for hours as messages on the site said it was experiencing "technical difficulties."
"Our team is working to resolve this as soon as possible," one update on Ticketmaster's website read Tuesday. "We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your patience."
In response to the high demand, Ticketmaster said it "slowed down some sales and pushed back others" in an attempt to "stabilize the systems," but that ultimately led to long wait times for many fans.
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In total, more than 2 million tickets were sold for Taylor’s shows on Tuesday – a number Ticketmaster said is "the most tickets ever sold for an artist in a single day."
The company acknowledged that it has much work to do to improve systems for such events.
Now, fans that may have been left empty-handed during the presale have been given another blow.
One day before tickets were set to become available to the general public, Ticketmaster abruptly canceled the event for the general public, citing "high demands" and "insufficient remaining ticket inventory."
Tickets are currently available on resale markets, but they're being accompanied by lofty price tags, ranging anywhere from $500 to more than $12,000.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the cheapest resale ticket for Swift's June 2 Chicago show at Soldier Field -- the first of three shows in the city -- was being offered at $518 on StubHub after fees. This ticket would be in the 35th row of section 444, positioned in the upper deck almost directly to the side of the stage.
Including ticket fees on StubHub, there were just 17 listings under $1,000 for Swift's opening Chicago show, with the cheapest listing on the field at $1,121.
And while presale events for select shows continue into Thursday, the general public was not slated to have the opportunity to buy tickets at face value until Friday. But not anymore.
Swift's 52-date stadium visit is slated to run March 17 through Aug. 9 of 2023 throughout the U.S. and is expected to expand to international dates, as well.
The tour announcement followed Swift's release of her 10th album, “Midnights."
Dates for Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" are below:
FRI, MAR 17, 2023
STATE FARM STADIUM
Glendale, AZ
with Paramore & GAYLE
SAT, MAR 18, 2023
STATE FARM STADIUM
Glendale, AZ
with Paramore & GAYLE
FRI, MAR 24, 2023
ALLEGIANT STADIUM
Las Vegas, NV
with beabadoobee & GAYLE
SAT, MAR 25, 2023
ALLEGIANT STADIUM
Las Vegas, NV
with beabadoobee & GAYLE
FRI, MAR 31, 2023
AT&T STADIUM
Arlington, TX
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
SAT, APR 1, 2023
AT&T STADIUM
Arlington, TX
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
SUN, APR 2, 2023
AT&T STADIUM
Arlington, TX
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
THURS, APR 13, 2023
RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM
Tampa, FL
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
FRI, APR 14, 2023
RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM
Tampa, FL
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
SAT, APR 15, 2023
RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM
Tampa, FL
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
FRI, APR 21, 2023
NRG STADIUM
Houston, TX
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
SAT, APR 22, 2023
NRG STADIUM
Houston, TX
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
FRI, APR 28, 2023
MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM
Atlanta, GA
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
SAT, APR 29, 2023
MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM
Atlanta, GA
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
SUN, APR 30, 2023
MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM
Atlanta, GA
with beabadoobee & Gracie Abrams
FRI, MAY 5, 2023
NISSAN STADIUM
Nashville, TN
with Phoebe Bridgers & Gracie Abrams
SAT, MAY 6, 2023
NISSAN STADIUM
Nashville, TN
with Phoebe Bridgers & GAYLE
SUN, MAY 7, 2023
NISSAN STADIUM
Nashville, TN
with Phoebe Bridgers & Gracie Abrams
FRI, MAY 12, 2023
LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD
Philadelphia, PA
with Phoebe Bridgers & GAYLE
SAT, MAY 13, 2023
LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD
Philadelphia, PA
with Phoebe Bridgers & GAYLE
SUN, MAY 14, 2023
LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD
Philadelphia, PA
with Phoebe Bridgers & Gracie Abrams
FRI, MAY 19, 2023
GILLETTE STADIUM
Foxborough, MA
with Phoebe Bridgers & GAYLE
SAT, MAY 20, 2023
GILLETTE STADIUM
Foxborough, MA
with Phoebe Bridgers & GAYLE
SUN, MAY 21, 2023
GILLETTE STADIUM
Foxborough, MA
with Phoebe Bridgers & Gracie Abrams
FRI, MAY 26, 2023
METLIFE STADIUM
East Rutherford, NJ
with Phoebe Bridgers & GAYLE
SAT, MAY 27, 2023
METLIFE STADIUM
East Rutherford, NJ
with Phoebe Bridgers & Gracie Abrams
SUN, MAY 28, 2023
METLIFE STADIUM
East Rutherford, NJ
with Phoebe Bridgers & OWENN
FRI, JUN 2, 2023
SOLDIER FIELD
Chicago, IL
with girl in red & OWENN
SAT, JUN 3, 2023
SOLDIER FIELD
Chicago, IL
with girl in red & OWENN
SUN, JUN 4, 2023
SOLDIER FIELD
Chicago, IL
with MUNA & Gracie Abrams
FRI, JUN 9, 2023
FORD FIELD
Detroit, MI
with girl in red & Gracie Abrams
SAT, JUN 10, 2023
FORD FIELD
Detroit, MI
with girl in red & OWENN
FRI, JUN 16, 2023
ACRISURE STADIUM
Pittsburgh, PA
with girl in red & Gracie Abrams
SAT, JUN 17, 2023
ACRISURE STADIUM
Pittsburgh, PA
with girl in red & OWENN
FRI, JUN 23, 2023
U.S. BANK STADIUM
Minneapolis, MN
with girl in red & Gracie Abrams
SAT, JUN 24, 2023
U.S. BANK STADIUM
Minneapolis, MN
with girl in red & OWENN
FRI, JUN 30, 2023
PAYCOR STADIUM
Cincinnati, OH
with MUNA & Gracie Abrams
SAT, JUL 1, 2023
PAYCOR STADIUM
Cincinnati, OH
with MUNA & Gracie Abrams
FRI, JUL 7, 2023
GEHA FIELD AT ARROWHEAD STADIUM
Kansas City, MO
with MUNA & Gracie Abrams
SAT, JUL 8, 2023
GEHA FIELD AT ARROWHEAD STADIUM
Kansas City, MO
with MUNA & Gracie Abrams
FRI, JUL 14, 2023
EMPOWER FIELD AT MILE HIGH
Denver, CO
with MUNA & Gracie Abrams
SAT, JUL 15, 2023
EMPOWER FIELD AT MILE HIGH
Denver, CO
with MUNA & Gracie Abrams
SAT, JUL 22, 2023
LUMEN FIELD
Seattle, WA
with HAIM & Gracie Abrams
SUN, JUL 23, 2023
LUMEN FIELD
Seattle, WA
with HAIM & Gracie Abrams
FRI, JUL 28, 2023
LEVI’S® STADIUM
Santa Clara, CA
with HAIM & Gracie Abrams
SAT, JUL 29, 2023
LEVI’S® STADIUM
Santa Clara, CA
with HAIM & Gracie Abrams
THUR, AUG 3, 2023
SOFI STADIUM
Los Angeles, CA
with HAIM & Gracie Abrams
FRI, AUG 4, 2023
SOFI STADIUM
Los Angeles, CA
with HAIM & OWENN
SAT, AUG 5, 2023
SOFI STADIUM
Los Angeles, CA
with HAIM & GAYLE
TUE, AUG 8, 2023
SOFI STADIUM
Los Angeles, CA
with HAIM & Gracie Abrams
WED, AUG 9, 2023
SOFI STADIUM
Los Angeles, CA
with HAIM & GAYLE
