Taylor Swift: Fan fury as Swifties weren’t ‘Ready for it’ as concert prices freezes out Stans
Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Midnights Eras. Photo Cred: Paolo V
As Taylor Swift’s three-night stint at Edinburgh Murrayfield stadium starting on June 7, 2024 approaches, where she will perform her greatest hits from her previous ‘Eras’, including her newest album The Tortured Poets Department, fans of the American superstar are expressing their disappointment at not being able to purchase tickets to ‘The Eras Tour’.
The elusive tickets were released in July of last year and fans were left disappointed as tickets were unaffordable for most and unattainable for the rest after they were purchased by scalpers to resale for a greater price. Tickets from Ticketmaster and AXS sold out the same day of release leaving many ticketless and hopeless.
Connor Humphries, a Swiftie who tried to purchase a ticket to one of the three Murrayfield shows but was unsuccessful, expressed his disappointment: “Not getting a ticket was devastating, I have grown up listening to her music but as a student I just can’t justify spending almost £200 on a seated ticket when I have bills to pay.”
“She is a Billionaire, so I wish her tickets were cheaper.” He added.
The Eras Tour has not been the only tour by a Pop artist to receive criticism due to their tour prices fans of Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo were left disappointed as standing tickets to their concerts ranged from £90-145.
Fans feel that the cost doesn’t justify only one show and expressed their disappointment on social media with some accusing the artists of “Greedy” and “Not caring about their fans” during the current cost of living crisis in the UK.
Kirstin McGeachie, Band Manger of ‘Static’, says it is not musicians who are responsible for setting the prices for their concerts: “It is not the artist that sets the price (of concert tickets). They might have a say if they believe that the price is too high to try and bring it down, but other than that, they don’t say much about it. It is the promoter that does that.”
Promoters such as Live Nation have recently been subjected to criticism from disgruntled fans who feel the overpriced tickets and anxiety inducing queues have stopped them from seeing their favourite artists.
While fans break their banks to attend these gigs Live Nation declared its biggest year yet in their 2023 end-of-year report. With business booming Ticketmaster sold 620 million tickets, a 13 per cent increase from the previous year. Its revenue increased by 32 per cent to nearly $3billion.
A survey conducted for this article found that 93% of Scottish music fans have been prevented from going to a concert since 2020 due to the price of the ticket as they could not justify the extreme cost for one night of entertainment.
Companies like Live Nation and Ticketmaster are not only unfavourable in the eyes of music fans, but in the eyes of The US Department of Justice too, who are set to file a lawsuit against Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, this week.
This would not be the only legal troubles the entertainment giants have faced in recent years as in December 2022, Swifties took to the US courts to sue Ticketmaster alleging the company had defrauded customers, price fixed and broken antitrust laws when tickets for the US leg of The Eras tour became available.
Dan Wall, Live Nation’s EVP Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, responded to the allegations in a blog post earlier this year saying: “In the ongoing antitrust attacks on Live Nation and Ticketmaster, a constant theme is that their alleged ‘monopolies’ are responsible for high ticket prices.
“Rhetorically, that’s understandable, because if you want to rile up fans against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, there is no better way than to blame them for something you know fans dislike”.
Tickets are currently available on second hand selling sits such as Viagogo, however the lowest price for a seated ticket for Swift’s first show in Edinburgh currently sits at £426 each. Ticket touting sites such as this have been accused of buying up tickets for a profit, pricing out fans and wasting tickets.
A survey conducted for this article found that only 3% of Scottish music fans stated their preferred method for purchasing concerts tickets through re-sale sites such as Viagogo, opting to endure ‘The Great War’ and fight for tickets during the original sales hosted by Ticketmaster.
Cris Miller, Viagogo Boss, told the BBC companies like Viagogo exist because with bigger artists such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce there is a greater demand: “There’s not going to be enough seats.”
“So from our perspective, ensuring that there’s a secure, safe transaction that takes place is the single most important thing.” He added.
However, fans have hope that ticket touting may be more preventable for future tours as Keir Starmer announced that Labour will regulate resale platforms such as Viagogo and put a stop on resale prices which reach the thousands if the general election on July 4, 2024.
Taylor Swift will perform 3 sold out shows at Murrayfield stadium in Edinburgh on June 7, 8, 9, 2024.
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