Taylor Swift fans slam Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing after "unaffordable" The Eras Tour tickets

16 November 2022, 12:36

Taylor Swift teams up with Captial One for The Eras tour presale

By Sam Prance

Taylor Swift is facing backlash after reportedly opting in to use dynamic pricing for her The Eras Tour tickets.

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Fans are calling out Taylor Swift for reportedly opting to use dynamic pricing for tickets on the presale for her upcoming tour.

Yesterday (Nov 15), Taylor Swift launched the presale for her highly-anticipated The Eras Tour. The tour is set to be Taylor's first tour in over four years and, given that Taylor has released six Number 1 albums in that time, (Lover, folklore, evermore, Fearless (Taylor's Version), Red (Taylor's Version) and Midnights), fans knew that the demand for tickets would be high.

However, what people didn't expect was for the tickets to be so expensive. Tickets are now being resold for up to $22,700 on resale sites and fans are criticising Taylor for reportedly using Ticketmaster's controversial dynamic pricing system.

How much are tickets to Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour?

Taylor Swift fans slam Ticketmaster dynamic pricing after The Eras Tour tickets presale chaos. Picture: Kevin Mazur/WireImage, Taylor Swift via Republic Records

According to fans, Ticketmaster's website kept crashing as millions of people tried to secure tickets when the presale began yesterday. Some fans even claimed that they were waiting up to eight hours in an online queue before being able to buy the tickets. After waiting all that time, fans then claim that they had to contend with Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing system.

General Admission ticket prices for Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour begin at $49 and go up to $449 depending on where you sit or stand. Meanwhile, VIP packages range from $199 to $899. That being said, Taylor has reportedly opted to use dynamic ticket pricing so these prices can increase dramatically depending on the demand for tickets.

Reacting to the dynamic pricing a fan tweeted: "if you can write a letter to apple, you can write a letter to ticketmaster. the fees, the dynamic pricing, the literal outright lying to fans about what we can and can’t buy. ticket buying for your favorite artist should not cost us this much money and stress."

Another person wrote: "I’m sorry but…having dynamic pricing for tickets IS 100% on Taylor Swift. I don’t care if people will get mad at me for this. She knows the demand is insane for tickets and it literally GIVES Ticketmaster the opportunity to price gouge us."

In the online waiting room for tickets, fans have also taken screenshots of a message which appears to confirm that tickets for the tour are being sold using a dynamic pricing system. It reads: "Ticket prices may fluctuate, based on demand, at any time."

if you can write a letter to apple, you can write a letter to ticketmaster. the fees, the dynamic pricing, the literal outright lying to fans about what we can and can’t buy. ticket buying for your favorite artist should not cost us this much money and stress @taylorswift13
— c. (fan acc) (@onastarlitnight) November 15, 2022

I’m sorry but…having dynamic pricing for tickets IS 100% on Taylor Swift. I don’t care if people will get mad at me for this. She knows the demand is insane for tickets and it literally GIVES Ticketmaster the opportunity to price gouge us. #TheErasTour
— C ⚔️🩸 (@yelhsagraveyard) November 15, 2022

If you know me, you know I DO NOT say this lightly. But, I am very disappointed that Taylor/her team allowed for dynamic pricing for this.
— Jess 🏳️‍🌈🦊 (@BrighterNow13) November 15, 2022

ticketmaster and resellers are the main issue, but i still wished taylor and her team opted out of dynamic pricing and set some better fan verification system. i am not even american, but it’s very frustrating to see so many of you struggling to get tickets. disappointing.
— swiftie struggle tweets (@swifferstruggle) November 15, 2022

why why why why why why why why did she allow dynamic pricing. I don’t enjoy being annoyed at her at all, but why did she allow it. I can’t understand why she wouldn’t advocate for a fair ticket experience for her fans. without a good explanation I feel so disappointed
— ☆ iggy ☆ (@intheweeeds) November 15, 2022

no because i love taylor but this dynamic pricing is not it. waiting 5+ hours without knowing how much longer is one thing but not knowing if i’ll even be able to afford the ticket now if i get in..?? #TheErasTourTicketPrices
— Hannah Michelle (@hannahhm1313) November 15, 2022

This was on the wait room page, so even if they’re not calling it dynamic pricing it’s definitely dynamic pricing since they’re changing prices whenever the fuck they feel like it pic.twitter.com/R3SdtHMTrQ
— 🌼Uriel🌼(Taylor's Version) (@UriOnThinIce) November 15, 2022

It's unclear exactly how expensive the tickets have been with dynamic pricing. However, since the presale took place tickets have been put up for resale on sites like StubHub and have been sold for as much as $22,700 each. General sale tickets for The Eras Tour go on sale this Friday.

As it stands, Taylor and Ticketmaster are yet to respond to the backlash. We shall update you if they do.