It wouldn’t have been a normal week if Taylor Swift hadn’t made any headlines. I know I’ve just blogged about her and I normally wouldn’t be writing a second blog about the same artists so quickly, but she only triggered the blog. It’s not really specifically about her.
Taylor Swift is just one of the first to try a new method of selling concert tickets. A lot of artists are trying to fight ticket scalping, but none have really found the answer. Taylor tried a system where fans have to get validated. You could do so by buying merchandise or tweeting about her. By doing so, you would prove your fanship and get access to buying tickets.
I don’t know about you, but I think buying concert tickets for big artists is the most stressful thing to do and therefore my least favorite. Ever since I’ve tried to get Beyoncé tickets, I’ve been traumatized. Tickets were supposed to start going on sale at 10 am, but apparently the queue started when the first fans started to login and click the event at midnight, so by the time the presale officially started and I entered the Ticketmaster website, the queue was a few hours long. I never even stood a chance. There was also just one queue for the whole country, so you have no other options.
I suddenly got reminded of the days that I would go to Amsterdam to get physical tickets to shows. I was so fed up by all these ticket offices that would have a similar situation. I even got reservations at some, where I wasn’t sure of a ticket until later in the day. A music shop in Amsterdam sold physical tickets and if I got there early enough, I got my ticket. No problem, no real stress. I miss those days.
I really can’t imagine what it must be like if I had 5 browser screens open trying to catch a break in the digital queue AND buy merchandise or tweet or whatever to get another step closer. Probably all within a session timespan, before getting back to square one. The stress alone would be exhausting.
It’s clear that I don’t really know what to think of this move by Taylor and her tour promoter and I’m not alone who’s feeling a little critical about it. Fans have been accusing her of squeezing even more money out of her fans by requiring them to buy merchandise. Others are saying that this makes concert even more expensive. So, maybe this is not the way to fight ticket scalping, but I’m sure we’ll continue to see more attempts.
