Ticketmaster says 'unprecedented demand' for Taylor Swift tickets causing issues
FOXBORO - The pre-sale for Taylor Swift's highly anticipated Eras tour that's making a stop in New England began Tuesday, but some Swifties are accusing Ticketmaster of playing the "Anti-Hero" in their quest to secure concert seats.
Infuriated fans report the ticketing website appeared to crash or freeze during purchase. Customers turned to Twitter to complain about Ticketmaster not loading or allowing them to access tickets, despite having a pre-sale code for verified fans.
"We are aware fans may be experiencing intermittent issues with the site and are urgently working to resolve," the ticket seller tweeted.
We are aware fans may be experiencing intermittent issues with the site and are urgently working to resolve.
— Ticketmaster Fan Support (@TMFanSupport) November 15, 2022
Swift is scheduled to play Foxboro's Gillette Stadium on May 19, May 20 and May 21.
On social media, some fans trying to buy tickets for the Massachusetts shows reported that they were kicked out of the queue or that they were stuck in the digital line for hours.
In an update just after 1 p.m., Ticketmaster said there has been "historically unprecedented demand" for tickets, with hundreds of thousands already sold. The ticket retailer delayed some West Coast sales by several hours, and delayed the presale for Capital One cardholders until Wednesday at 2 p.m.
"If you are currently in a queue, please hang tight- queues are moving and we are working to get fans through as quickly as possible," Ticketmaster said.
— Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) November 15, 2022
John Higgins, of Higs Tickets in Boston, says Ticketmaster should have known exactly how many people would be logging on, since the company was responsible for sending out the presale codes.
"Yeah, they completely dropped the ball on it," Higgins said. "I mean they knew the demand was there."
Higgins received hundreds of calls Tuesday from customers trying to buy tickets on the resale markets, but those start at $900 and go up to $25,000.
"I would wait until after the holidays you will see more availability come in the February-March timeframe the show isn't until May," Higgins said.
Also on Tuesday, Boston police warned that fans should be on the lookout for counterfeit tickets.
"Anyone who purchases tickets from a secondary source are taking a chance and do so at their own risk," police said.