'I Feel Defeated': Taylor Swift Fans Share Frustrations Trying to Get Eras Tour Tickets for Toronto
Fans have been spending hours on the Ticketmaster site trying to get through last-minute queues and navigating error notices, while others have fallen victim to ticketing scams.
Taylor Swift fans are trying to secure last minute tickets to the Eras Tour dates in Toronto — but many are doing it with a broken heart.
Over the last two weeks, Ticketmaster has released several batches of last-minute tickets for the six Eras Tour dates. While some have been successful in scoring seats through these drops — and are sharing their tips on TikTok — plenty of fans are losing hope.
"I feel defeated," Taylor Swift fan Rowan McKerihen tells Billboard Canada.
McKerihen has tried several methods to get Eras Tour tickets. Based in Halifax, she initially had a group of six friends — and their partners — who all signed up for the Ticketmaster Verified Fan system to try to buy tickets in the first round of sales. None of them were successful. As the dates approached, she did some online sleuthing to find out about last-minute ticket drops, and tried joining the queues.
"A few weeks ago, I managed to get past the protected queue and saw the seating map with available tickets. It looked like there were tons available," she recalls.
But each time she tried to check out, she says, the site would crash and tell her to adjust her filters and try again. McKerihen says she played this "frustrating game" earlier this month when tickets began to be released and again last week ahead of the first Toronto dates, as well as entering Instagram giveaways.
Still, she's had no luck. Many fans like her have been playing the same game, anxiously waiting for last-minute drops. In some ways, that experience mirrors the surprise announcements, easter eggs and special editions Taylor Swift has used to build connections with her fans throughout her career. Some psychologists, including Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky at McGill University in Montreal, have compared it to gambling, with "slot machine tactics" and "lottery dynamics."
@rueshimusic it really shouldn’t be this hard to get a ticket 🤦♀️ #TaylorSwift #ErasTour #ErasTourToronto #Ticketmaster #Toronto #Swiftie #FYP #RightWhereYouLeftMe #Waitlisted
"It really shouldn't be this hard to get a ticket," posted @rueshimusic on TikTok this week, who previously shared a video of the Ticketmaster website waiting for the queue to open.
"Losing all hope since I can't even get into the queue," commented another TikToker on November 19, underneath a video about refreshing the Ticketmaster page.
@glorybetogays #erastour #erastourtaylorswift #erastourtoronto
Other fans have fallen victim to scams, many on resale sites and on social media. Halton region police reported this week that 40 people shelled out $70K for tickets that didn't exist. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has said it has received over 200 complaints of Taylor Swift ticket fraud.
McKerihen, who has followed Swift's career from the very beginning, remembers in the 2010s when she could spend $50-$125 for Taylor Swift tickets without the same frustrations.
"I'm thrilled that her music is being recognized and that so many people are excited to experience her shows," she adds. "However, I'm deeply disappointed in the Ticketmaster system — especially after seeing videos of so many empty seats at [the November 14] concert."
"I'm really curious to hear how artists feel about their tickets being sold for such outrageous prices," McKerihen continues. "At the end of the day, I just want real fans to fill the seats."
Ticketmaster has taken heat for controversial ticketing rollouts in recent years, from tech problems and dynamic pricing during the Oasis sales this fall, to Swifties who launched a lawsuit against the ticketing giant over the Eras Tour sales. The company, which is owned by Live Nation, is also facing a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged monopolistic practices.
In the midst of the huge demand for tickets, for Taylor Swift and other blockbuster tours like the upcoming Oasis reunion, Ticketmaster has launched an educational campaign to warn of avenues for fraud and demystify the process.
On a media briefing Zoom call in early November, Dan Wall, EVP, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, said many of the complaints that come in about Ticketmaster are based on misperceptions.
Unlike the majority of other major concerts that come through Toronto, Live Nation is not the promoter of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. Instead, it is a production of Messina Touring. However, Ticketmaster is the ticket distributor and platform for the event sales.
"What are the things fans care about most? It's usually about the price and availability of tickets — that there's not enough tickets to go around, the prices are too high, things like that," said Wall. "Those are not things that the ticketing company determines. Those are things that are entirely determined by the artist's team, working with the promoters."
It's rare that an artist plays as many stadium dates as Taylor Swift in one market — six concerts over two weekends in Toronto. That creates a larger than usual supply of tickets, but given the enormous popularity of the tour, also a steep demand.
McKerihen, for her part, may not have got tickets for a show, but she did score a permanent piece of the experience: an Eras Tour sweatshirt.
For many other fans, the hunt continues.
The Eras Tour returns to Toronto's Rogers Centre for three more dates, from November 21 to 23.
