Taylor Swift fans in Australia are outraged over the last-minute release of previously held-back tickets to the sold out shows this month in Sydney, according to multiple outlets. The superstar’s fans down under vented after learning that scores of tickets to The Eras Tour dates at Accor Stadium – including some of the best seats in the house – were reportedly being given away right before and during the concerts last weekend.
‘Why the hell are Ticketek holding onto tickets that close to the concert?!’ asked one person on TikTok. ‘Ticketek really need an investigation into how they’ve royally f***ed this whole tour up,’ another said.
‘We got tickets five minutes before the show started but there was so many empty seats in A reserve and all around us through the whole show,’ one more wrote.
‘Yep I went on Friday and there was heaps of empty seats seats in lower bowl, stands, and even floor. I was shocked,’ someone else said.
One fan explained their experience in a post on X:
STORY TIME. my friend and i were on ticketek all day but had no luck. we decided to taygate, still trying ticketek. taylor was on stage. during the man we saw all these people sprinting past us, we ran to see why, and there was a worker giving out HUNDREDS OF FREE TICKETS 🥹🥹🥹 https://t.co/gb1uB7IBxF
— matilda ⸆⸉ ttpd era (@mmirrorball13) February 24, 2024
How is it possible, one might ask, that there are hundreds of free tickets being given away to the global phenomenon right at showtime? The answer is naturally that they were among the likely huge proportion of tickets that were held back from sale during the initial onsales process, only to be dripped out slowly on to the market to encourage the idea that the show was sold out and keep prices propped up.
Taylor Swift’s tour promotors have been known to use holdbacks to imply scarcity for tickets to shows on her tours for more than a decade.
“At a 2009 Taylor Swift show in Nashville, Tennessee, only 1,600 of 13,300 tickets were made available to the public. This was not an isolated incident,” John Breyault of the National Consumers league told Connecticut lawmakers in 2011 during a hearing related to proposed laws that would have banned such holdback practices as illegally deceptive for consumers.
During Swift’s Reputation Tour, the practice was widespread enough that as many as 20,000 tickets were given away for a single show, drawing complaint from the Santa Clara mayor after the fact. According to The Chronicle, the city lost $2 million on a Swift performance at Levi’s Stadium due to having to buy and give away that many seats when they didn’t sell – despite the tour being touted for record-shattering prices and sellouts for months.
When Swift’s Eras Tour ticket sales process imploded in the fall of 2022, it became an open question whether or not such holdbacks were again in play – highlighted in an opinion piece penned by New York State Senator James Skoufis at the time.
“Holdbacks are one of the dirtiest secrets in the industry,” writes New York State Sen. James Skoufis in an opinion piece published at the time. “It’s likely that at each of Taylor Swift’s 52 upcoming concerts, thousands of tickets will be “held back” and never released to the general public… According to a report compiled by the New York Attorney General’s Office, over 50% of tickets to top shows between 2012-2015 were not reserved for the general public. Holdbacks should be banned or severely limited.”
Consumer advocates have long pushed for more transparency on holdbacks, but promoters and the robust Live Nation lobby have fought hard against previous efforts by lawmakers to legislate such transparency. In Ontario, transparency on holdbacks was dropped from ticketing reform plans after tour operators threatened to simply avoid the province – the most populace in the country – rather than disclose how many tickets were being held back from shows there.
In this instance, Ticketek defended itself against the anger of Swifties over the held-back tickets, rightly pointing out that they serve entirely at the whim of the tour promoter as far as when and how tickets are distributed and released.
“We release inventory at the promoter’s direction. The last releases were production releases once the stage was built,” Ticketek told 7NEWS.com.au.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour continues on into 2024 with six March performances scheduled in Singapore before the operation swings to Europe for summer dates and then back to North America in the fall. Tickets to upcoming shows can be purchased on ticket resale marketplaces including MegaSeats (use code TICKETNEWS for 10% off), Stub Hub, or Ticket Club, where members can receive a free membership with the code “TICKETNEWS.”
Fans can also always monitor the “official” ticket sales channel in hopes of catching a release of the next set of “holdbacks” – visit Swift’s tour website for details.
Taylor Swift The Eras Tour 2024 Dates
Saturday, March 2 – Singapore, SG | National Stadium
Sunday, March 3 – Singapore, SG | National Stadium
Monday, March 4 – Singapore, SG | National Stadium
Thursday, March 7 – Singapore, SG | National Stadium
Thursday, May 9 – Paris, FR | La Defense Arena
Friday, May 10 – Paris, FR | La Defense Arena
Saturday, May 11 – Paris, FR | La Defense Arena
Sunday, May 12 – Paris, FR | La Defense Arena
Friday, May 17 – Stockholm, SWE | Friends Arena
Saturday, May 18 – Stockholm, SWE | Friends Arena
Sunday, May 19 – Stockholm, SWE | Friends Arena
Friday, May 24 – Lisbon. POR | Estadio Da Luz
Saturday, May 25 – Lisbon. POR | Estadio Da Luz
Thursday, May 30 – Madrid, ESP | Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Sunday, June 2 – Lyon, FR | Groupama Stadium
Monday, June 3 – Lyon, FR | Groupama Stadium
Friday, June 7 – Edinburgh, UK | BT Murrayfield Stadium
Saturday, June 8 – Edinburgh, UK | BT Murrayfield Stadium
Sunday, June 9 – Edinburgh, UK | BT Murrayfield Stadium
Thursday, June 13 – Liverpool, UK | Anfield Stadium
Friday, June 14 – Liverpool, UK | Anfield Stadium
Saturday, June 15 – Liverpool, UK | Anfield Stadium
Tuesday, June 18 – Cardiff, UK | Principality Stadium
Friday, June 21 – London, UK | Wembley Stadium
Saturday, June 22 – London, UK | Wembley Stadium
Sunday, June 23 – London, UK | Wembley Stadium
Friday, June 28 – Dublin, IRE | Aviva Stadium
Saturday, June 29 – Dublin, IRE | Aviva Stadium
Sunday, June 30 – Dublin, IRE | Aviva Stadium
Thursday, July 4 – Amsterdam, NED | Johan Cruijff Arena
Friday, July 5 – Amsterdam, NED | Johan Cruijff Arena
Saturday, July 6 – Amsterdam, NED | Johan Cruijff Arena
Tuesday, July 9 – Zurich, SWI | Stadion Letzigrund
Wednesday, July 10 – Zurich, SWI | Stadion Letzigrund
Saturday, July 13 – Milan, IT | San Siro Stadium
Sunday, July 14 – Milan, IT | San Siro Stadium
Wednesday, July 17– Gelsenkirchen, GER | Veltins-Arena
Thursday, July 18– Gelsenkirchen, GER | Veltins-Arena
Friday, July 19– Gelsenkirchen, GER | Veltins-Arena
Tuesday, July 23 – Hamburg, GER | Volksparkstadion
Wednesday, July 24 – Hamburg, GER | Volksparkstadion
Saturday, July 27 – Munich, GER | Olympiastadion
Sunday, July 28 – Munich, GER | Olympiastadion
Thursday, August 1 – Warsaw, POL | PGE Narodowy
Friday, August 2 – Warsaw, POL | PGE Narodowy
Saturday, August 3 – Warsaw, POL | PGE Narodowy
Thursday, August 8 – Vienna, AUS | Ernst-Happel-Stadion
Friday, August 9 – Vienna, AUS | Ernst-Happel-Stadion
Saturday, August 10 – Vienna, AUS | Ernst-Happel-Stadion
Thursday, August 15 – London, UK | Wembley Stadium
Friday, August 16 – London, UK | Wembley Stadium
Saturday, August 17 – London, UK | Wembley Stadium
North American Dates 2024
Friday, October 18 – Miami, FL | Hard Rock Stadium
Saturday, October 19 – Miami, FL | Hard Rock Stadium
Sunday, October 20 – Miami, FL | Hard Rock Stadium
Friday, October 25 – New Orleans, LA | Caesars Superdome
Saturday, October 26 – New Orleans, LA | Caesars Superdome
Sunday, October 27 – New Orleans, LA | Caesars Superdome
Friday, November 1 – Indianapolis, IN | Lucas Oil Stadium
Saturday, November 2 – Indianapolis, IN | Lucas Oil Stadium
Sunday, November 3 – Indianapolis, IN | Lucas Oil Stadium
Thursday, November 14 – Toronto, ON | Rogers Centre
Friday, November 15 – Toronto, ON | Rogers Centre
Saturday, November 16 – Toronto, ON | Rogers Centre
Thursday, November 21 – Toronto, ON | Rogers Centre
Friday, November 22 – Toronto, ON | Rogers Centre
Saturday, November 23 – Toronto, ON | Rogers Centre
Friday, December 6 – Vancouver, BC | BC Place
Saturday, December 7 – Vancouver, BC | BC Place
Sunday, December 8 – Vancouver, BC | BC Place
