Taylor Swift Ticketing Fiasco

This sounds a bit like the Vertigo Tour nonsense, although admittedly I did not experience that first-hand.

Anyway, my wife tried getting tickets for the Seattle show earlier this week for our daughter and a few of her friends.  It did not go well.  Total fail.

And now, more calls for Ticketmaster and Live Nation to be broken up...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/16/taylor-swift-ticket-fiasco-leads-to-calls-for-ticketmaster-live-nation-to-break-up.html#:~:text=Taylor%20Swift%20tour%20ticket%20fiasco%20leads%20to%20calls,merger%20of%20Ticketmaster%20and%20Live%20Nation.%20More%20items

I experienced the vertigo ticket fiasco. They charged people a shit load of money for ‘priority’ tickets then failed to deliver.

What folk don’t realise is that by buying into all this nonsense, fans are creating the environment we have today. Marketing goons know this. They know how people behave. And exploit it.

Until people stop passively accepting it all, this will never stop. Capitalism was built on it.

My somewhat crazy-about-Taylor daughter got tickets through the presale for Nashville. Gonna cost her a bit extra to fly over there from MTL. 

My somewhat crazy-about-Taylor daughter got tickets through the presale for Nashville. Gonna cost her a bit extra to fly over there from MTL. 

Dear god. 

Well, I have a lot of respect for her.  And she is a great performer.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/taylor-swift-says-it-was-excruciating-to-watch-ticketmaster-debacle-11668794783?mod=hp_lead_pos10

Taylor Swift Says It Was ‘Excruciating’ to Watch Ticketmaster Debacle
Ticket seller’s site repeatedly crashed as fans tried to access the presale for her tour, a situation that Ms. Swift said ‘really pisses me off’

Taylor Swift has responded to the Ticketmaster debacle that blocked many of her fans this week from getting tickets to her tour, saying Friday that it was “excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.’s Ticketmaster, the online ticket vendor, opened its presale Tuesday to select fans who had registered in advance. Millions of people swarmed the site, causing it to crash and forcing fans to wait sometimes hours to secure seats for the “Eras Tour” next year. Some fans didn’t get tickets.

Ms. Swift didn’t publicly address the situation until Friday.

“It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties,” she wrote on Instagram.

Ticketmaster and representatives for Ms. Swift didn’t immediately return requests for comment Friday.

Ms. Swift’s presale broke records this week, according to Ticketmaster. More than two million tickets were sold on Tuesday alone for her tour, which Ticketmaster said was more than any other artist in a single day.

The presale was only open to fans who received a code after registering with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, which asked them to indicate which tour date they wanted. The program was meant to weed out scalpers and sell tickets only to fans it could verify through sales records and social-media history.

The presale continued for several days before the general sale, which had been scheduled for Friday. Ticketmaster canceled it Thursday because there weren’t enough seats left.

“We asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could,” Ms. Swift wrote.
Ticketmaster opened the presale all at once for each of Ms. Swift’s 52 U.S. tour dates. There was less congestion on the site for her 2018 tour because Ticketmaster put the tickets on sale over several days.

“It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets,” Ms. Swift said, “but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”

Well, I have a lot of respect for her.  And she is a great performer.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/taylor-swift-says-it-was-excruciating-to-watch-ticketmaster-debacle-11668794783?mod=hp_lead_pos10

Taylor Swift Says It Was ‘Excruciating’ to Watch Ticketmaster Debacle
Ticket seller’s site repeatedly crashed as fans tried to access the presale for her tour, a situation that Ms. Swift said ‘really pisses me off’

Taylor Swift has responded to the Ticketmaster debacle that blocked many of her fans this week from getting tickets to her tour, saying Friday that it was “excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.’s Ticketmaster, the online ticket vendor, opened its presale Tuesday to select fans who had registered in advance. Millions of people swarmed the site, causing it to crash and forcing fans to wait sometimes hours to secure seats for the “Eras Tour” next year. Some fans didn’t get tickets.

Ms. Swift didn’t publicly address the situation until Friday.

“It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties,” she wrote on Instagram.

Ticketmaster and representatives for Ms. Swift didn’t immediately return requests for comment Friday.

Ms. Swift’s presale broke records this week, according to Ticketmaster. More than two million tickets were sold on Tuesday alone for her tour, which Ticketmaster said was more than any other artist in a single day.

The presale was only open to fans who received a code after registering with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, which asked them to indicate which tour date they wanted. The program was meant to weed out scalpers and sell tickets only to fans it could verify through sales records and social-media history.

The presale continued for several days before the general sale, which had been scheduled for Friday. Ticketmaster canceled it Thursday because there weren’t enough seats left.

“We asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could,” Ms. Swift wrote.
Ticketmaster opened the presale all at once for each of Ms. Swift’s 52 U.S. tour dates. There was less congestion on the site for her 2018 tour because Ticketmaster put the tickets on sale over several days.

“It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets,” Ms. Swift said, “but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”

I agree.

Her Folklore LP is superb.

Well, I have a lot of respect for her.  And she is a great performer.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/taylor-swift-says-it-was-excruciating-to-watch-ticketmaster-debacle-11668794783?mod=hp_lead_pos10

Taylor Swift Says It Was ‘Excruciating’ to Watch Ticketmaster Debacle
Ticket seller’s site repeatedly crashed as fans tried to access the presale for her tour, a situation that Ms. Swift said ‘really pisses me off’

Taylor Swift has responded to the Ticketmaster debacle that blocked many of her fans this week from getting tickets to her tour, saying Friday that it was “excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.’s Ticketmaster, the online ticket vendor, opened its presale Tuesday to select fans who had registered in advance. Millions of people swarmed the site, causing it to crash and forcing fans to wait sometimes hours to secure seats for the “Eras Tour” next year. Some fans didn’t get tickets.

Ms. Swift didn’t publicly address the situation until Friday.

“It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties,” she wrote on Instagram.

Ticketmaster and representatives for Ms. Swift didn’t immediately return requests for comment Friday.

Ms. Swift’s presale broke records this week, according to Ticketmaster. More than two million tickets were sold on Tuesday alone for her tour, which Ticketmaster said was more than any other artist in a single day.

The presale was only open to fans who received a code after registering with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, which asked them to indicate which tour date they wanted. The program was meant to weed out scalpers and sell tickets only to fans it could verify through sales records and social-media history.

The presale continued for several days before the general sale, which had been scheduled for Friday. Ticketmaster canceled it Thursday because there weren’t enough seats left.

“We asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could,” Ms. Swift wrote.
Ticketmaster opened the presale all at once for each of Ms. Swift’s 52 U.S. tour dates. There was less congestion on the site for her 2018 tour because Ticketmaster put the tickets on sale over several days.

“It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets,” Ms. Swift said, “but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”

Trouble is, Swift is gigantically popular. There are a finite number of tickets available. Also, I can’t for the life of me believe an artist as big and powerful as TS, like Springsteen, can’t lay down the law as to how tickets are sold.

Springsteen is probably relieved that someone else has taken his place for Biggest TicketMaster Debacle.

I remember Pearl Jam tried their damndest to no avail.

Radiohead did well. Don’t they always, though.

Quote from: SlyDanner on November 18, 2022, 02:40:52 PM

Well, I have a lot of respect for her.  And she is a great performer.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/taylor-swift-says-it-was-excruciating-to-watch-ticketmaster-debacle-11668794783?mod=hp_lead_pos10

Taylor Swift Says It Was ‘Excruciating’ to Watch Ticketmaster Debacle
Ticket seller’s site repeatedly crashed as fans tried to access the presale for her tour, a situation that Ms. Swift said ‘really pisses me off’

Taylor Swift has responded to the Ticketmaster debacle that blocked many of her fans this week from getting tickets to her tour, saying Friday that it was “excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.’s Ticketmaster, the online ticket vendor, opened its presale Tuesday to select fans who had registered in advance. Millions of people swarmed the site, causing it to crash and forcing fans to wait sometimes hours to secure seats for the “Eras Tour” next year. Some fans didn’t get tickets.

Ms. Swift didn’t publicly address the situation until Friday.

“It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties,” she wrote on Instagram.

Ticketmaster and representatives for Ms. Swift didn’t immediately return requests for comment Friday.

Ms. Swift’s presale broke records this week, according to Ticketmaster. More than two million tickets were sold on Tuesday alone for her tour, which Ticketmaster said was more than any other artist in a single day.

The presale was only open to fans who received a code after registering with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, which asked them to indicate which tour date they wanted. The program was meant to weed out scalpers and sell tickets only to fans it could verify through sales records and social-media history.

The presale continued for several days before the general sale, which had been scheduled for Friday. Ticketmaster canceled it Thursday because there weren’t enough seats left.

“We asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could,” Ms. Swift wrote.
Ticketmaster opened the presale all at once for each of Ms. Swift’s 52 U.S. tour dates. There was less congestion on the site for her 2018 tour because Ticketmaster put the tickets on sale over several days.

“It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets,” Ms. Swift said, “but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”

Trouble is, Swift is gigantically popular. There are a finite number of tickets available. Also, I can’t for the life of me believe an artist as big and powerful as TS, like Springsteen, can’t lay down the law as to how tickets are sold.

I am sure they could - they just don't want to - and we all know why......

It seems like a complete melt down in decision making that led them to open the pre-sales for all of her shows at once, instead of staggering it per show or by week or some such approach.  Someone was asleep at the wheel.

At least TS came out publicly here.  I don't recall Springsteen ever saying a word about his own fiasco.  Maybe I missed it, but it seemed like he could not have been bothered at all, which is ridiculous.

It seems like a complete melt down in decision making that led them to open the pre-sales for all of her shows at once, instead of staggering it per show or by week or some such approach.  Someone was asleep at the wheel.

At least TS came out publicly here.  I don't recall Springsteen ever saying a word about his own fiasco.  Maybe I missed it, but it seemed like he could not have been bothered at all, which is ridiculous.

This?

https://www.stereogum.com/2206541/bruce-springsteen-addresses-ticketmasters-dynamic-pricing-that-led-to-5000-tickets/news/

It seems like a complete melt down in decision making that led them to open the pre-sales for all of her shows at once, instead of staggering it per show or by week or some such approach.  Someone was asleep at the wheel.

At least TS came out publicly here.  I don't recall Springsteen ever saying a word about his own fiasco.  Maybe I missed it, but it seemed like he could not have been bothered at all, which is ridiculous.

Bruce Springsteen addressed the controversial ticketing rollout for his 2023 U.S. tour for the first time, telling Rolling Stone he knows “it was unpopular with some fans” but maintaining that “most of our tickets are totally affordable.”

When tickets for the tour went on sale in the summer, fans were outraged by Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing and costs skyrocketing up to $5,000 apiece.

“What I do is a very simple thing. I tell my guys, ‘Go out and see what everybody else is doing. Let’s charge a little less.’ That’s generally the directions. They go out and set it up. For the past 49 years or however long we’ve been playing, we’ve pretty much been out there under market value. I’ve enjoyed that. It’s been great for the fans,” Springsteen said. “This time I told them, ‘Hey, we’re 73 years old. The guys are there. I want to do what everybody else is doing, my peers.’ So that’s what happened. That’s what they did.”

He continued, “But ticket buying has gotten very confusing, not just for the fans, but for the artists also. And the bottom line is that most of our tickets are totally affordable. They’re in that affordable range. We have those tickets that are going to go for that [higher] price somewhere anyway. The ticket broker or someone is going to be taking that money. I’m going, ‘Hey, why shouldn’t that money go to the guys that are going to be up there sweating three hours a night for it?’ It created an opportunity for that to occur. And so at that point, we went for it. I know it was unpopular with some fans. But if there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back.”

Asked how he felt about the fan blowback, Springsteen said, “Well, I’m old. I take a lot of things in stride. You don’t like to be criticized. You certainly don’t like to be the poster boy for high ticket prices. It’s the last thing you prefer to be. But that’s how it went. You have to own the decisions you have made and go out and just continue to do your best. And that was my take on it. I think if folks come to the show, they’re going to have a good time.”

Will Springsteen avoid dynamic pricing going forward? “I don’t know,” he said. “I think in the future, we’ll be talking about it, of course. It changes from tour to tour. We will be coming back. I’m sure we’ll be playing outside somewhat. That’ll be a whole other discussion when that comes around. I don’t want to say anything now, but we’ll see what happens.”

Back in July, Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau defended the ticketing rollout to The New York Times, saying, “In pricing tickets for this tour, we looked carefully at what our peers have been doing. We chose prices that are lower than some and on par with others.” Landau also held that while some ticket prices climbed up to four figures, the average ticket price was “in the mid-$200 range.”

“I believe that in today’s environment, that is a fair price to see someone universally regarded as among the very greatest artists of his generation,” Landau said.

Ticketmaster is facing another fire with Taylor Swift, whose “Eras Tour” was met with unprecedented demand, skyrocketing prices and outright cancellations of ticket sales. Responding to her own fan outrage, Swift issued a statement saying Ticketmaster “assured” her they could meet the demand and that it was “excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/music/news/bruce-springsteen-addresses-ticketmaster-outrage-says-he-has-to-own-his-decisions/ar-AA14h8O5?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=fdd52d9050a748c1a8ceb68a4c2eeb4e

The bolded part clearly shows the artist has the say how much they want to charge.

Yeah it looks like Springsteen made some comments today.  Good for him to acknowledge the issue I suppose but his words were a bit uninspiring IMO.