Taylor Swift’s first tour since 2018 kicked off with a Tickemaster meltdown, and as the concerts continue, ticket prices have only continued to rise.
Swift is about halfway through the North American leg of “The Eras Tour” and is set to perform at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night over Memorial Day weekend.
However, fans of the pop star are having a hard time finding affordable tickets. Ahead of the three-night stop, the lowest ticket prices were around $1,600.
Ticket scams and glitches are also forcing fans to shell out big bucks. A Massachusetts man paid $21,000 for four tickets after the original tickets he bought from StubHub, a resale site, never arrived.
Taylor Swift performs at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on May 19, 2023. (Getty Images)
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Swift is on tour for the first time since 2018. (Lisa Lake/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS)
Anthony Silva told WCVB-TV he originally spent around $1,800 for four tickets.
Other fans have been scammed, like Jacey Smith, who bought four tickets to one of the Nashville, Tennessee, concerts but only received two, according to WTVF.
“We originally ordered our tickets from this guy, and he seemed legit,” Smith told the outlet. “We ordered four tickets, and only two transferred. We’ve been worrying and worrying, and now we’ve driven so far, and now we may not be able to get in.”
If you’re buying off social media, experts recommend double-checking when the account was created or looking for other signs that the person actually exists. Another suggestion is to use Paypal Goods & Services to protect yourself from losing money if you were to get scammed.
If you’re looking for cheap tickets, Ticketmaster will likely drop new batches of tickets in the days leading up to and the day of Swift’s concerts. These potential ticket drops are possibly due to new seating being added to the venue or returned tickets, and they would be sold at face value.
A Twitter account, @erastourticks, often monitors Ticketmaster and tweets when a new batch of tickets has been posted for sale.
But some fans are getting creative to see the “Midnights” crooner. One Nashville man was unable to buy tickets but found another way to see Swift live. Davis Perrigo applied to be a security guard for the Nissan Stadium concerts, allowing him to sing along with the “Fearless” musician.
“My wife jokes that I sing Taylor Swift songs with such passion for someone who’s never been broken up with,” Perrigo told WTVF.
Other fans who have not been able to secure tickets have started to show up outside the stadiums to hear Swift singing hits such as “Lover,” “Bad Blood” and “You Belong With Me” in real time.
“Swift fans are still so excited about her that some without tickets will drive to the performances just to tailgate,” Howard Breuer, CEO of NewsroomPR, explained to Fox News Digital. “At her May 5 Nashville show, a ticketless fan drove from Honduras to participate in the experience in whatever way she could. Another ticketless fan flew from Australia to New York yesterday.”
Swfit’s “Eras Tour” show lasts a little over three hours and features a handful of costume changes. (Bob Levey/TAS23)
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Swift performs at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on May 20, 2023. (TAS Rights Management/Getty Images)
However, New York and New Jersey fans won’t have that option as MetLife Stadium has told people who do not have a concert ticket that they should not show up at the venue.
“To be clear, do not come to MetLife Stadium if you are not in possession of a ticket to the Taylor Swift concert,” an announcement made on Twitter said. “Our parking lots and public transportation will be at maximum capacity and are only for guests who have tickets. Tickets must correspond to that evening’s show.
“Violation of MetLife Stadium policies may result in ejection from property and being banned from attending future events.”
Swift’s ticket fiasco began in November, when Ticketmaster had to cancel the general sale after the tour sold out during presale. Many fans were left ticketless and angry with the sales website.
“Due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand, tomorrow’s public on-sale for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour has been cancelled,” Ticketmaster shared at the time.
Swift performs her song “My Tears Ricochet.” (Bob Levey/TAS23)
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Swift announced “The Eras Tour” in November. (Bob Levey/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Swift released her own statement calling out Ticketmaster.
“It goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans,” she wrote on social media.
“We’ve been doing this for decades together and over the years, I’ve brought so many elements of my career in house. I’ve done this SPECIFICALLY to improve the quality of my fans’ experience by doing it myself with my team who care as much about my fans as I do. It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.
“There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward. I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could. It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”
Swift sings her hit song “The Man.” (Scott Eisen/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
Despite Swift’s addressing of the ticket sale fiasco, the pop star has not publicly spoken about the resale prices of her tickets. Breuer, a PR and branding expert, told Fox News Digital that her silence doesn’t necessarily affect her relationship with the fans.
“The true Swifties are still on the bus. They’re frustrated more with the mess made by Ticketmaster than with her,” he said. “They know that Ticketmaster is the Darth Vader of the concert industry these days and the ticket scalpers are the Stormtroopers, and that Swift and her fans are just the latest casualties. There has also been recent controversy with Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen, but you won’t see them busking in the subway, either.”
Seth J. Horowitz, president of Horowitz Agency, noted that Swift is “handcuffed.”
“There are a lot of mouths to feed when it comes to live events (security costs have gone through the roof) and, in theory, she could set aside a number of tickets for those who can’t afford the high ticket prices. However, you’ll then have another set of fans who could potentially qualify for those tickets having a resentment if they aren’t lucky enough to get them,” Horowitz told Fox News Digital. “We live in a capitalistic, supply-and-demand society, and Taylor Swift is the most in-demand artist. Welcome to America.”
Haley Kinney, who also handles integrated public relations matters for Horowitz Agency clients, said the ticket prices haven’t put a “dent” in Swift’s reputation.
“Take the Philadelphia show as an example. Thousands of fans who were not able to acquire tickets due to affordability or availability still camped out in the parking lots for the opportunity to hear her perform,” she explained to Fox News Digital. “Other fans are religiously tuning in to her shows via live streams. Taylor Swift is well respected and has had a lasting career — most fans are happy for her success, especially given the circumstances leading up to this tour. They are just elated to see her perform, even if they were unable to purchase tickets.”
Swift has not spoken out about the high ticket prices for “The Eras Tour.” (Scott Eisen via Getty Images)
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