Swifties say they should have first dibs on Eras tickets, not scalpers

The pre-sale of the international Eras Tour had begun. To understand how intense the pre-sale for the international tour was, over 22 million people registered for the Singapore leg of the Eras Tour. Meanwhile, Australia had over 4 million fans attempting to secure 500,000 tickets. And let’s not forget what happened in the USA when over 14 million Americans tried to access the pre-sale. While many fans (including me) managed to secure tickets, this also meant that millions of passionate fans missed out on seeing Taylor Swift and were mad when they found out where those tickets ended up.

There were now calls to change how pre-sale codes and early access would be distributed since many fans missed out on tickets and ended up on scalper websites. One popular suggestion was using users’ streaming data from Apple Music and Spotify to identify “who the real fans are” and give those people tickets. This suggestion was widely accepted by fans, with some showing their data from third-party apps and Spotify Wrapped, proving that they deserved the tickets more.

As someone who fought in the Australian Great War to get Eras Tour tickets last week, I think this is somewhat of a decent idea. Using streaming data developed over the years means that tickets would go to those who truly wanted them the most and actually listened to her music.

However, this new system feels a bit like gatekeeping. What if a fan bought physical merch because they are audiophiles or believe artists don’t earn much through streaming platforms? What if they couldn’t buy tickets because they were underage and had to rely on their parents, who weren’t in the top 0.5 percent of Swifties on Spotify? What if someone was a fan of Taylor Swift but started listening to other artists before they knew the singer was coming to their country?

If what was suggested becomes the go-to system, here is my top artist during the past four weeks. In preparation for the Barbie movie, I listened to bubblegum pop for the past few days. Does this mean I can’t get Eras Tour tickets because I wanted to listen to Aqua’s ‘Barbie Girl’? Also, I’m one of those Swifties who bought CDs, and I’ve seen people on TikTok with a massive vinyl collection. Does this mean that they can’t get tickets because of how they consume their music?

While the suggested system does have its flaws, it does help prioritize access for those who really want to see Taylor Swift. Scalpers can’t just stream artists in one day or a month just to cheat the system, and ticket vendors will have to rely on streaming data to distribute tickets. And if there are leftovers, a general sale can be held so parents who aren’t Swifties and casual fans can access tickets.

In the end, dedicated fans must duke it out with scalpers to secure Eras tour tickets. Meanwhile, I will be counting down until Swift makes her way down under.