With the release of her 10th studio album, “Midnights,” Taylor Swift is back in the game as the world’s top-selling artist. Just this month, Swift became the first and only musical artist to claim all top ten spots on the Billboard Hot 100, solidifying the album as a “blockbuster” (as the New York Times puts it). On the morning of Nov. 1, following the success of her new album, the pop star announced a North American tour.
Swift took to social media to announce her next tour “The Eras Tour,” a tour in which all her musical eras will be explored on stage.
“I can’t WAIT to see your gorgeous faces out there,” Swift wrote on Instagram, “It’s been a long time coming.”
Swift hasn’t toured since her Reputation Stadium tour in 2018.
Ticketmaster, the largest ticket sales and distribution company in the world, has partnered with Swift to handle the presale and release of her upcoming tour tickets. According to Ticketmaster’s website, fans have the opportunity to be the first ones to get their hands on tour tickets: “A simple registration is all it takes to get verified for the opportunity to be invited to shop for tickets. While it does not guarantee that everyone will get a ticket, it does level the playing field – without racing against bots – for ticket access.”
From Nov. 1 to Nov. 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET, fans had the opportunity to go on Ticketmaster and register for the TaylorSwiftTix Presale. Fans entered their email address and concert preferences into the website and then received an email confirming that they had “successfully registered.” However, Ticketmaster has said that they expect the demand for “The Eras Tour” to be extremely high. As stated, while it does not guarantee a ticket for every person that signed up, it helps fans have priority when it comes to ticket sales.
Second-year history major, Amelia Thomas, detailed the start of her presale signup: “The process began at 8:30 a.m. when I checked my phone and I saw that Taylor had made a post, and I looked at it, and suddenly there was a tour! Immediately, I went on to Ticketmaster and I signed in and then it said I was in line.”
When fans registered on Ticketmaster they were digitally taken into a waiting queue where they waited in line for a chance to be signed up for this Verified Fan Presale.
Eden Bombino, a second-year journalism major, spoke about whether she had a positive or negative experience with registering for this tour on Ticketmaster: “It was negative but not Taylor’s fault, definitely Ticketmaster because they can’t handle that amount of traction on the website so it took hours in line!”
“I swear to you my circle (in the line) did not move for hours!” Thomas said about her waiting queue experience. “It was so terrifying.”
While fans reported having to wait a long time in the queue, their efforts did not prove fruitless when they both secured a confirmation email from Ticketmaster. After signing up, fans received an email with the tagline “Your TaylorSwiftTix Verified Fan Registration is Complete” with a vibrant poster of Swift attached to it.
“I feel like I’m going to have this underlying anxiety if I don’t get tickets,” Bombino said. “But I’m excited because I’ve never seen Taylor.”
The only thing Taylor Swift fans can do until Nov. 15 is wait. If they are selected for the tour presale, they will be notified the night before and receive a personalized code to use the following day on Ticketmaster.
“I’m so nervous,” Thomas laughed. “I’m so excited! I really hope I get to go even if I don’t get presale.”
“The Eras Tour” presale starts Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. PST for all selected parties. If you are not selected for the Verified Fans presale, tour tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. PST.
Written By: Jordan Stokes
Nick Hancock 
Steve Anderson 
Grace Chaves