Audience dissatisfied with Taylor Swift
Seats Not Worth the Ticket Price
From June 7-9, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stopped in Edinburgh (the capital of Scotland). Like other cities on the previous tour, the three shows at Murrayfield Stadium, which has a capacity of 73,000, were sold out.
However, despite the 5-star reviews, some Swifties did not have a satisfactory experience. Some fans complained that they spent a lot of money on the most expensive tickets but did not get the seats they wanted.
According to the Daily Mail, the most expensive ticket package to enter Taylor Swift’s show is called It’s Been A Long Time Coming Package, priced at 662 pounds (about 843 USD), excluding other fees. In addition to the entrance ticket, Swifties who buy this package also own many special items such as souvenir concert tickets, pins, stickers, postcards, tote bags… The singer described this as an unforgettable reserved seat ticket.
However, sharing their experiences on TikTok, many people were dissatisfied because their seats were out of sight or off to the side, making it difficult for them to see their idols.
Holly Evans (29 years old) praised Taylor’s concert as a great performance. However, she was upset because she could barely see the Anti-hero singer. The video posted by Evans showed her seat at the back of the crowd and blocked by iron fences and tents.
Sinead Fitz also had a similar experience. She accused Ticketmaster (the official ticket seller for the Eras Tour) of fraud for giving her a seat with a blocked view twice.
According to the TikToker, she contacted TicketMaster in March because she was concerned about her seat not being ideal but nothing was resolved. The reality was exactly as she had predicted. She then worked with staff at Murrayfield and was transferred. However, the new seat was not much better.
Another audience member, named Michael, also bought the It’s Been A Long Time Coming Package and felt he did not deserve it because his seat looked directly at a pillar across the stage.
“I had a great time, but I could barely see Taylor. VIP seats but limited view, what does that mean? Can someone explain? I paid a lot of money to have a limited view,” Michael said indignantly.
Ticketmaster has not commented on the customer’s complaint.
Ticketing issues
This isn’t the first time the company has been criticised for selling tickets to Taylor Swift shows. In 2023, when tickets first went on sale, Ticketmaster was criticised after fans who booked early were forced to pay £662 for expensive VIP tickets, but then similar seats were listed for £184 ($234), only without the merchandise.
Early bird ticket-hunters said they were shocked by the price cut, angry that they had to pay nearly £500 for a few posters. Others were delighted to get good seats in the house for just 27% of the original price.
Fans have also blamed Ticketmaster for scalping and price gouging.
Tickets for Taylor’s UK shows appeared on platforms like Stubhub and viagogo within minutes of going on sale. The listed prices left many people stunned.
Tickets priced at £170 ($216) were marked up to nearly £3,000 ($3,818). Some tickets to Wembley Stadium in London were even priced at more than £9,800 ($12,474), even though they were not VIP tickets.
The same thing happened at the Cardiff stopover in Wales. Welsh MP Cardiff Brennan described his feelings after seeing the prices of Taylor Swift’s show tickets on resale sites as “horrifying”. According to him, the black market was active within an hour of tickets going on sale at the Principality Stadium. Even more shocking was that regular seats were priced at £3,352 ($4,267).
Viewers said that if Ticketmaster had a policy that only the main ticket holders would be allowed to see the show when it went on sale, scalpers would not have the opportunity to raise prices.
Taylor Swift is also unhappy with this situation. She said she felt bad that most of the tickets sold were not going to her real fans.
Taylor Swift was scheduled to perform in Cardiff on June 18. She then went to London on June 21, 22 and 23. The British capital will once again welcome the pop superstar on August 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20. This is also the last stop of the European leg of the Eras Tour.
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