A “SWIFT” SPECTACLE
THE UNPRECEDENTED DEMAND FOR THE
ERAS TOUR
2023 JULY ISSUE
Written by: Caroline Kopas
Share this article !
From the Desk of the Publisher
For a change, our green environmental ambassador, Caroline Kopas, wrote about a pop artist, Taylor Swift, who has been extremely popular with the millennial and Gen Z who grew up with her music. I looked for her music from the YouTube Music and I wasn’t disappointed by her singing.
In fact for someone who can beat the record of Don McLean’s American Pie, being the longest song to take the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, we should be impressed.
Caroline aired her discontent on the Ticketmaster’s handling of the tickets for the live concert that kept all those fans with obviously the money to spend on tickets selling from $700 to $1,000 which is outrages. Not to mention that the highest went to $18,337 which keeps the vast majority out of the concert. It has created a lot of grievances from her fans.
Taylor Swift made history by kicking off her illustrious career with her self-titled debut album in 2006. In the nearly twenty years since the singer-songwriter has undoubtedly proven herself to be a global phenomenon in which few modern artists can compare. With ten original studio albums to her name, her impressive discography transcends the boundaries of languages, generations, and more. She’s particularly popular with millennial and Gen Z girls and women, who grew up with her music and related to the stories she told and the emotions she portrayed. Her singles and albums have topped charts and broken records. When the epic “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version – Taylor’s Version from the Vault)” even broke Don McLean’s near fifty year record for the longest song to take the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, she sent the “American Pie” singer flowers and left a note saying that she “will never forget that [she’s] standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Considering the pop icon’s astounding popularity, it is unsurprising that demand to see her live in concert has reached unprecedented heights. Hallmarked by her relatable and authentic songwriting, individuality, fan engagement, evolving musical style, and most importantly, her immense dedicated fanbase, it is no wonder that when Swift announced her 2023 Eras Tour in the United States, fans went wild to gain access to what was sure to be the event of the year. Since she has embarked on this headlining-making tour, fans have been eager to post videos to social media platforms like TikTok of stadiums shaking with the excitement and vigor of tens of thousands of fans, all united with their love for Taylor.
However, the Eras Tour had a rough launch that was marred by controversy. Sparking an investigation from the United States Government, Ticketmaster’s handling of the presale both revealed the site to be a monopoly and left millions of Taylor Swift fans without the chance to even attempt to buy tickets. In fact, according to Ticketmaster, approximately fourteen million users alone were on the site during presale, where queue times lasted hours and malfunctions were plenty. The demand was so unprecedented that the site even had to cancel the public sale scheduled for that Friday.
Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, was severely criticized in the American Senate soon after in response to the war of Taylor Swift presale tickets. Both parties called the company a monopoly, said its merger broke antitrust laws, and declared that it harmed consumers by limiting competition. Senate members pressed the Department of Justice to investigate the company. Swift fans’ disappointment at not being able to buy tickets was so impactful that they are causing justice to be served in retaliation.
Another controversy that marred the ticketsale was that of the outrageous prices. Nosebleeds alone cost several hundred tickets, and pit tickets, those on the floor close to the stage, cost several thousand. It was reported that the average concert-goer bought a ticket that ranged from 700-1,000 USD and the most expensive ticket purchased was a whopping 18,337 USD.
Inaccessible to the vast majority of the public, tickets were indubitably a privileged possession for the wealthy, and for the unwealthy willing to spend a hefty chunk of their savings on an experience of a lifetime. Now, the world’s average salary is 1,480 USD a month, which is just less than 18,000 USD, meaning the average working person would need to drop around three weeks earnings on an average Taylor Swift ticket and an entire year’s worth of earnings for the most expensive ticket.
An average 1,000 USD ticket would cost an average Saudi worker two weeks of earnings, an average Chinese worker one month of earnings, and average Ecuadorian worker two months of earnings. The average American would need to put 100% of their earnings of a week towards their ticket. The majority of Taylor Swift fans are aged 18-34, who on average make less than their older counterparts and therefore can be inferred to have spent more than a week’s earnings on a ticket.
The highest reported ticket, at 18,337 USD would cost an average Swiss worker three months of earnings, the average German worker six months of earnings and the average Nepalese worker a whopping seven and a half years of earnings. Taylor Swift tickets are certainly a luxury few can afford.
Recently, the global phenom has announced fifty international dates to her tour in an impressive seventeen different countries. Venues ranging from the legendary stadiums of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, Brazil, to the national stadium of Singapore, to the old favorite of London’s Wembley Stadium, it is undoubtable that international Swifties will have the time of their lives at her global concerts despite limited country visits and soaring ticket prices.
Live music is becoming more and more of a privilege only the wealthy can afford, especially regarding Taylor Swift and the unparalleled demand for her concert tickets. However, one of the key reasons the singer is so popular is her accessibility. After holding out on allowing her music to be streamed on online services such as Spotify and Apple Music until 2017 due to concerns over royalties and fair compensation, Swift has since become the third most streamed artist on Spotify in only six years. Available to stream anywhere at any time, fans can always energetically scream along to her famous lyrics with passion fan bases of other artists can only wish to achieve.
After all, in her own words, she promises “that you’ll never find another like me.”
