Fans hoping to attend Taylor Swift's Chicago concerts are left disappointed after woes with Ticketmaster
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Taylor Swift is playing three shows at Soldier Field next summer – but Ticketmaster said Thursday it is canceling ticket sales for the general public.
As CBS 2's Marybel González reported Thursday night, the announcement from Ticketmaster came after a presale meltdown.
Swift is set to perform her first of three shows at Soldier Field on June 3, 2023. But unfortunately, not everyone who made plans to attend the concert will get to do so.
Swift's return to the big stage after five years for her "The Eras" tour was met with big excitement from her massive following. For two days this week, fans were able to purchase presale tickets using a Verified Fan code.
But the process was a total mess, said Oak Brook resident Michele Lunford.
"As soon as I got in, I'm clicking tickets and it's just saying, 'Error, error, error - you're not authorized. You're not signed in,'" Lunford said. "By the time I got back in, it was sold out. So I think it was what - around eight hours waiting to get tickets just to get nothing?"
Lunford was like many fans who were disappointed on Tuesday, when some who had secured Verified Fan codes got stuck in Ticketmaster's virtual waiting room or experienced other technical difficulties. Demand for the tour was so great that other phases of the presale were rescheduled for that evening or the following day.
Shortly before announcing the cancellation of the general sale on Thursday, Ticketmaster shared a statement explaining what went wrong, blaming unprecedented demand and people who went to the site without Verified Fan access codes.
"The Eras on sale made one thing clear: Taylor Swift is an unstoppable force and continues to set records," the company said in a press release Thursday morning. "We strive to make ticket buying as easy as possible for fans, but that hasn't been the case for many people trying to buy tickets for the Eras Tour."
The company said that over 3.5 million people pre-registered for a chance to score a Verified Fan access code, the largest number of sign-ups in the company's history. About 1.5 million people received codes, and other people who pre-registered were put on a waitlist.
The Verified Fan system aims to keep bots from purchasing tickets for resale, and was supposed to stop the site from being overwhelmed as it was during the Swift presale.
It only got worse from there. On Thursday, Ticketmaster announced Friday's public sale for the concert would be canceled due to high demands and insufficient ticket inventory.
"I was hoping to surprise my fiancé - who has a ton of health issues right now - and he was looking forward to going," Lunford said, "so I came up emptyhanded, and you know, we're both disappointed."
The disappointment reached fans as far away as Ecuador. Valentina Pulla had planned a trip out to Chicago just to attend the concert.
"I'm feeling pretty sad," Pulla said. "I'm feeling really emotional, because it was my one opportunity."
Now, Swifties are turning to social media and other resale sites to get a hold of tickets – some of which are going for thousands of dollars.
"This is an anomaly. This is not the norm," said Steve Buzil, a ticket broker for Sitclose Tickets. "This shouldn't be the norm - not for a behemoth like Ticketmaster."
The system crash boggled even brokers like Buzil, who says Ticketmaster should have anticipated the volume of demand for this concert.
"I think there's something going on here where a lot of people are going to make a lot of money," Buzil said. "But the people that are going to suffer are the true fans that can't get the tickets."
Ticketmaster said they are willing to improve the ticket-buying experience. We did reach out to them to ask what changes they are planning to make for future concerts – and we are waiting to hear back.
There was no word late Thursday on when the company will be selling any more tickets.