|
Post by imbuemyblue on Nov 18, 2022 13:51:50 GMT -5
For one, you can't just feign ignorance, act surprised, and blame Ticketmaster, when it's been known Ticketmaster is s**t. I get Ticketmaster is the biggest ticket seller and probably works with most of these venues, but Taylor and her team decided to go with the company. They're not just the biggest seller, it's the only seller. It's a literal monopoly. You have to go through them to book these stadiums. The other option would be doing smaller venues, which obviously would have been an even b*gger shit show.
|
|
|
Post by suburbandreams on Nov 18, 2022 13:55:31 GMT -5
For one, you can't just feign ignorance, act surprised, and blame Ticketmaster, when it's been known Ticketmaster is s**t. I get Ticketmaster is the biggest ticket seller and probably works with most of these venues, but Taylor and her team decided to go with the company. They're not just the biggest seller, it's the only seller. It's a literal monopoly. You have to go through them to book these stadiums. The other option would be doing smaller venues, which obviously would have been an even b*gger s**t show. If she was willingly to do enough dates to make smaller venues work , which likely would mean consistent touring at least 10 years, she could have just added more dates to this tour which would have made it less of a shit show. However, putting on a Taylor level concert is exhausting for all involved and that amount of touring is not sustainable in the long run for artists wellbeing both physical and mental.
|
|
kimberly
Diamond Member
act i RENAISSANCE
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 11,920
My Charts
Pronouns: they/them
|
Post by kimberly on Nov 18, 2022 13:56:54 GMT -5
I think that was a solid statement she posted. She just didn't address the elephant in the room, which is that SHE can't meet the demand either. Didn't Ticketmaster say 14 million people tried to get tickets? That's basically 6 times what she's sold — and she doesn't want to/can't/won't play over 300 stadium shows, which is understandable.
A few things she and her team could have done: - Making sure people who had tickets to her 2020 "Lover Fest" dates actually had priority for the tickets instead of just getting a Verified Fan boost. - Making sure there are at least some tickets saved for the public on sale for all the fans they waitlisted. - Not take advantage of Swifties by releasing 269843 remixes to "Anti-Hero" and making them think that might give them a Verified Fan boost. - Making sure people need to enter their Verified Fan codes BEFORE queueing on the website. - Having a 360 stage set up, allowing for more capacity.
|
|
|
Post by imbuemyblue on Nov 18, 2022 14:02:09 GMT -5
A few things she and her team could have done: - Making sure people who had tickets to her 2020 "Lover Fest" dates actually had priority for the tickets instead of just getting a Verified Fan boost. - Making sure there are at least some tickets saved for the public on sale for all the fans they waitlisted. - Not take advantage of Swifties by releasing 269843 remixes to "Anti-Hero" and making them think that might give them a Verified Fan boost. - Making sure people need to enter their Verified Fan codes BEFORE queueing on the website. - Having a 360 stage set up, allowing for more capacity. A fair response! Yes, after reading this I think she could have taken some responsibility. I wonder if she would have known about when the code was being entered, though. That was just bizarre to me.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2022 14:04:41 GMT -5
Its feels good that I'm probably the only one who didn't want a ticket to her concert. Holy demand she has is insane!
Having said that I do feel sorry for her fans who couldn't get a ticket and those who did as well.
Ticketmaster is verified demonic
|
|
|
Post by Devil Marlena Nylund on Nov 18, 2022 14:06:34 GMT -5
I think that was a solid statement she posted. She just didn't address the elephant in the room, which is that SHE can't meet the demand either. Didn't Ticketmaster say 14 million people tried to get tickets? That's basically 6 times what she's sold — and she doesn't want to/can't/won't play over 300 stadium shows, which is understandable. A few things she and her team could have done: - Making sure people who had tickets to her 2020 "Lover Fest" dates actually had priority for the tickets instead of just getting a Verified Fan boost. - Making sure there are at least some tickets saved for the public on sale for all the fans they waitlisted. - Not take advantage of Swifties by releasing 269843 remixes to "Anti-Hero" and making them think that might give them a Verified Fan boost. - Making sure people need to enter their Verified Fan codes BEFORE queueing on the website. - Having a 360 stage set up, allowing for more capacity. Yeah, this is it here. It’s not her fault if demand is huge. If people genuinely couldn’t get tickets because of demand, that’s sucky but unfortunately is how it is. To me, as long as the tickets actually go to people who are going and not being resold and marked up, cool. Tickets found to be resold should be made void. Not sure how that could work but them’s the deal. Beyond that, I agree with the other points. The fan boost thing, while a good idea, doesn’t work when you’re essentially making it a hunger games of who will do the most to get the bigger boost - which may or may not even guarantee you a place in line. It would have worked better as a way to get access to better seats or something, not to simply get in a queue that might get you into a waiting area. Too much false hope. Ticketmaster is glitchy as fuck anyway. No reason it needs to be made more complicated. Either her team or Ticketmaster, whoever, should have anticipated the demand and not made the entire tour go on sale at the same time. I don’t even know how that made sense at the planning table.
|
|
|
Post by suburbandreams on Nov 18, 2022 14:11:48 GMT -5
I think that was a solid statement she posted. She just didn't address the elephant in the room, which is that SHE can't meet the demand either. Didn't Ticketmaster say 14 million people tried to get tickets? That's basically 6 times what she's sold — and she doesn't want to/can't/won't play over 300 stadium shows, which is understandable. A few things she and her team could have done: - Making sure people who had tickets to her 2020 "Lover Fest" dates actually had priority for the tickets instead of just getting a Verified Fan boost. - Making sure there are at least some tickets saved for the public on sale for all the fans they waitlisted. - Not take advantage of Swifties by releasing 269843 remixes to "Anti-Hero" and making them think that might give them a Verified Fan boost. - Making sure people need to enter their Verified Fan codes BEFORE queueing on the website. - Having a 360 stage set up, allowing for more capacity. I am sure there are choices that Taylor wished she made but I think fundamentally even Taylor underestimated demands . For suggestion #2, the lack of general sale tickets is most likely driven by the fact that Ticketmaster gave a bad estimate to Taylor about how many tickets fans would try to buying doing the verified fan presale. Ticketmaster and/or Taylor decided to release tickets that were reserved from the general sale to the presale in order to reduce the number of verified fans that weren't able to buy a ticket. Outside Taylor's team suddenly having a better understanding of the conversion rate than Ticketmaster , there was only bad options once that underestimation occured. For suggestion #4, only accounts that were verified for a date were able to enter the waiting room. I tried to test on Wednesday before the capitalone sale and I was kicked out instantly. Also Taylor's team are not Ticketmaster software developers. It on Ticketmaster to manage the technical side. For suggestion #5, 360 stages are not exactly easy to design and plan, especially for tours as theatric has Taylor's. We are not entitled to a 360 tour and she might not even had enough time to build one, considering the short turn around for the tour.
|
|
joshtheking
Platinum Member
Joined: April 2020
Posts: 1,405
|
Post by joshtheking on Nov 18, 2022 14:27:15 GMT -5
She... is taking partial responsibility though? Obviously mistakes were made and she addressed she will try to improve for next time. We learn and move on
|
|
Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2022 15:00:18 GMT -5
😂
|
|
austin
9x Platinum Member
Pulse Survivor Sri Lanka Sole Survivor
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 9,160
|
Post by austin on Nov 18, 2022 15:31:38 GMT -5
I absolutely agree with the earlier comment that not having fans enter the code BEFORE the queue was a huge mistake. There are a lot of cases of people clogging the queue (especially in the capital one presale) that didn’t have a code and just slowed everything down for those that did.
I honestly forgot I hadn’t entered it until it didn’t allow me to add seats to my cart until I entered it.
|
|
𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤
9x Platinum Member
Justice for Georgia Leah Moses: https://www.georgialeahmoses.com
Joined: January 2019
Posts: 9,244
My Charts
Pronouns: she/they
|
Post by 𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤 on Nov 18, 2022 15:51:20 GMT -5
this feels like a good time to drag her for "And the voices that implore/"You should be doing more"/To you I can admit/That I'm just too soft for all of it" she ruined a beautiful little song (that first verse is gorgeously written) by coming out as a little bitch See, I thought that line was cute though. Aren't we all a little too soft for life sometimes? lol In seriousness though, I don't understand how her saying she's too soft for all of it makes her a "little bitch"? Not trying to argue, I'm just trying to understand. its dependent on what lens you view it through. When you view it as being too soft for life in general, it *is* cute. Maybe that’s what she meant? I dragged her because I interpreted it as her response to ”the voices that implore” who say “You should be doing more” concerning social issues, mainly because she’s historically been criticized for not being vocal enough about social injustice. If that’s what the line is about (or not considering different interpretations), it’s a pretty BS explanation imo. My first response was “…. really?”
|
|
Kinney
Gold Member
Joined: December 2012
Posts: 580
|
Post by Kinney on Nov 18, 2022 15:57:45 GMT -5
The fact that all of this happened because she's just...too popular is blowing my mind.
It's giving "sold out on iTunes", but real.
|
|
𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤
9x Platinum Member
Justice for Georgia Leah Moses: https://www.georgialeahmoses.com
Joined: January 2019
Posts: 9,244
My Charts
Pronouns: she/they
|
Post by 𝕡𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕓𝕤 on Nov 18, 2022 16:03:07 GMT -5
I like the statement. I like that she’s not taking what Ticketmaster is saying lying down and hitting at them over how much they said they could handle. I agree that she absolutely should’ve mentioned the scalping, but other than that it was pretty solid?
|
|
|
Post by KeepDeanWeird on Nov 18, 2022 16:04:14 GMT -5
On CNBC, The CEO of Ticketmaster's biggest shareholder said Ticketmaster sold more than 2 million tickets on Tuesday and demand for Swift “could have filled 900 stadiums.” 14 million, including bots, hit the site.
I knew she'd speak out. Her statement was more than fine. She's not responsible for this. She (her team) have to rely on vendors to do this. There's no reason to believe that Taylor Swift Enterprises would bungle such an integral part of the machine. Everything else is really tightly controlled, why would anyone think otherwise?
Tickets were expensive just at FV, so I don't feel sorry for folks who can shell out that kind of cash if they missed out. Big Deal. This is entertainment - not food or rent. People need to get a grip here. Taylor will be touring for the next 40 years, easily.
|
|
Choco
Diamond Member
lavender haze
Joined: February 2009
Posts: 27,105
My Charts
Pronouns: he/him
|
Post by Choco on Nov 18, 2022 16:15:04 GMT -5
She claims her team asked and was assured demand could be met.
Now of course let's blame her if she tours with them again but otherwise I think the response was exactly what she needed to say. Shift the blame and show some compassion but very little she can do without adding 300 more dates.
|
|
|
Post by getouttamyway on Nov 18, 2022 16:30:00 GMT -5
Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if for the next tour Taylor and her team come up with an in-house method for ticket sales, would that actually work while Ticketmaster still has a monopoly over US stadium ticket sales?
|
|
|
Post by suburbandreams on Nov 18, 2022 17:25:33 GMT -5
Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if for the next tour Taylor and her team come up with an in-house method for ticket sales, would that actually work while Ticketmaster still has a monopoly over US stadium ticket sales? Unfortunately the venue chooses the ticketseller which is way she worked with SeetGeeks for a few dates. Ticketmaster sucks but Taylor's team is not full of software developers that create a website that can handle 14 million on the site at once. She is a musician and should not be expected to become the CEO of a software company.
|
|
Choco
Diamond Member
lavender haze
Joined: February 2009
Posts: 27,105
My Charts
Pronouns: he/him
|
Post by Choco on Nov 18, 2022 17:50:38 GMT -5
If anyone can move this in house it's her but there are some huge hurdles like venue exclusivity. It's gonna take a monumental effort that just might not be worth it.
|
|
cjay
3x Platinum Member
Joined: October 2006
Posts: 3,046
|
Post by cjay on Nov 18, 2022 17:56:34 GMT -5
I think it's a bit ridiculous to think Swift could have any control over this. She has a right to do as many or as little shows as she wants. She has a right to design her show and stage to fit her vision of what she wants it be. She doesn't owe us a 200 date tour. the few mom and pop venues that don't use Ticketmaster would mean a much smaller scale tour. And it's not her problem to ensure every single fan or certain segment of fans can buy a ticket. First come, first serve!
Her team asked if Ticketmaster could accommodate the demand. Swift's team doesn't need to be analysts and poke holes in the response of Ticketmaster. The team was assured they could do it and that's enough due diligence in my book. I do hate how scalpers buy up these tickets and resale them at astronomical prices. But again, how is this Swift's problem? Is she suppose to sell tickets from her website? Oh wait, she can't do that because the venues have contracts with companies to do this. Anyway, her statement was fine. I'm sure swift could brainstorm things she could do, but really? does she have to be the artist, logistics planner, software engineer, marketing firm, set builder etc? That's a bit unrealistic.
|
|
Dylan :)
Diamond Member
smth 'bout youu
Joined: October 2014
Posts: 12,540
|
Post by Dylan :) on Nov 18, 2022 21:31:33 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Mayman on Nov 19, 2022 1:59:05 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by ificanthaveyou on Nov 19, 2022 3:29:25 GMT -5
She’s so good to Swifties and some continue to be entitled spoiled assholes to her.
|
|
Rhythm Nation
Gold Member
didntyoucalmmyfearswithacheshirecatsmile?
Joined: June 2006
Posts: 517
|
Post by Rhythm Nation on Nov 19, 2022 4:15:43 GMT -5
She’s so good to Swifties and some continue to be entitled spoiled assholes to her. This. She has given us hundreds of (great) new songs in the last few years. Plus videos and other treats. Anyone with a streaming subscription can enjoy these at very low cost. Buying extras such as remixes, CDs, merch, vinyls and tour tickets is a choice. If you’re exhausted rooting for the GOAT then please go elsewhere.
|
|
Keelzit
Diamond Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 11,815
|
Post by Keelzit on Nov 19, 2022 4:47:39 GMT -5
I'm completely lost. Ticketmasters crashed and not all people managed to get a ticket because there were only so many tickets available. What's the issue here?
I drag her whenever I think she's taking advantage of her fans' devotion but this is entirely not her fault or anything she had control over. What do people expect to do? Attend some website programming courses? Were some of the people who got shafted promised a ticket because they bought the album from her website and would be prioritised over others?
|
|
kimberly
Diamond Member
act i RENAISSANCE
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 11,920
My Charts
Pronouns: they/them
|
Post by kimberly on Nov 19, 2022 5:16:46 GMT -5
😂😂😂
|
|
bat1990
Diamond Member
Joined: July 2004
Posts: 13,002
Pronouns: he/him
|
Post by bat1990 on Nov 19, 2022 11:17:50 GMT -5
Goodness, I just counted and she's released 75(!) songs since COVID lockdown #1, not counting Taylor's Versions of already released songs. If including Lover, Only The Young, Beautiful Ghosts, and Christmas Tree Farm, that's 96 since her Big Machine contract ended and 139 including all the (Taylor's Versions). HOT DAMN!!!
EDIT: I made up five extra songs out of nowhere, possibly with double counting.
|
|
Rhythm Nation
Gold Member
didntyoucalmmyfearswithacheshirecatsmile?
Joined: June 2006
Posts: 517
|
Post by Rhythm Nation on Nov 19, 2022 11:57:40 GMT -5
Goodness, I just counted and she's released 75(!) songs since COVID lockdown #1, not counting Taylor's Versions of already released songs. If including Lover, Only The Young, Beautiful Ghosts, and Christmas Tree Farm, that's 96 since her Big Machine contract ended and 139 including all the (Taylor's Versions). HOT DAMN!!! EDIT: I made up five extra songs out of nowhere, possibly with double counting. With long pond, live in Paris, remixes etc is actually even more!
|
|
kanimal
3x Platinum Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,043
|
Post by kanimal on Nov 19, 2022 15:01:34 GMT -5
A few things:
1) It's important to remember the stakes here. People will freak out when their flight leaves 5 minute late. Or when they get overcharged by 99 cents for a cup of coffee. Here, you're talking about a show that people haven't been able to see in 5 years ... and won't have another chance to see for probably another 2-3 minimum. So it's pretty understandable for people to have a heated emotional reaction here, especially since there WERE some process failures.
Will that lead to some people making irrational claims about who's responsible? Yes, but the anger itself is very rational.
2) Expectations are a huge thing. I don't know that many of these fans have been through a process where THIS MANY people missed out on tickets. And I'm pretty positive that there's never been a case where such a high percentage of "boosted" (aka VIP) customers also missed out. That's going to amplify the frustration from point one. I'd imagine that some people who were verified, boosted, etc had taken for granted they'd get tickets. And while that's misguided, there were no previous expectations for HOW misguided that was.
3) Any amount of instant resale tickets in excess of 0 is a blatant slap in the face regarding the validity of this so-called "verified fan" program. It doesn't inherently mean the program is broken -- if you ended up with a ticket and could triple your investment, even a "verified" fan may seize that opportunity -- but it does violate the entire marketing campaign which is to ensure tickets don't get in the hands of resellers.
It's not ideal from a pure business standpoint, so it's not going to happen, but this is an area where people would probably expect Ticketmaster (with urging from Taylor) to take more "action." Banning resales, and requiring you to return any tickets you don't want for a 1-to-1 refund, would obviously go a long way in winning people over. Again, not realistic, but something I'd imagine a lot wish they'd see.
4) Ticketmaster talking about bots in the same statement that says Verified Fan is a way to eliminate bots is another slap in the face. In this case, however, it's a direct sign of a broken system. If this sale is only available to verified customers, there has to be a way to restrict the general public (or bots) from accessing it.
5) I've seen some people with a "you snooze you lose" kind of tone here, but the big thing is that people didn't necessarily snooze. The tickets, as far as I understand it, were not necessarily distributed in a perfect first come, first serve model due to the tech issues. So, imagine the frustration of being assured a place in line, finding out that someone behind you in line got tickets over you, and then being told "better luck next time." There may not be much that can be DONE, but you're not human if you don't think that kind of stinks.
6) The idea that Ticketmaster couldn't have anticipated this is a bit of a farce, as there have been smaller-scale (but still notable) issues with other artists. And none would have had the obvious demand that this tour did.
There are certain cases where tech issues are inexcusable. The cable going out during the Super Bowl, for example. This is another example.
==
There's unfortunately not much that can be done, and I think Taylor's statement was reasonable given all that happened.
My only recommendation might have been to make some "little gestures" to show that she's going above and beyond. Restricting press/corporate attendees at the show (it's not like she needs the press or the money) and raffling off fan access to the VIP boxes is one idea. Pre-show meet-and-greets for select Verified Fans who didn't get tickets. Stuff like this.
Obviously, this doesn't solve the problem for everyone - and actually opens Pandora's Box in that it gives people more to complain about. But I think something in this vein could have been helpful.
|
|
Keelzit
Diamond Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 11,815
|
Post by Keelzit on Nov 19, 2022 16:27:19 GMT -5
A few things: 1) It's important to remember the stakes here. People will freak out when their flight leaves 5 minute late. Or when they get overcharged by 99 cents for a cup of coffee. Here, you're talking about a show that people haven't been able to see in 5 years ... and won't have another chance to see for probably another 2-3 minimum. So it's pretty understandable for people to have a heated emotional reaction here, especially since there WERE some process failures. Will that lead to some people making irrational claims about who's responsible? Yes, but the anger itself is very rational. 2) Expectations are a huge thing. I don't know that many of these fans have been through a process where THIS MANY people missed out on tickets. And I'm pretty positive that there's never been a case where such a high percentage of "boosted" (aka VIP) customers also missed out. That's going to amplify the frustration from point one. I'd imagine that some people who were verified, boosted, etc had taken for granted they'd get tickets. And while that's misguided, there were no previous expectations for HOW misguided that was. 3) Any amount of instant resale tickets in excess of 0 is a blatant slap in the face regarding the validity of this so-called "verified fan" program. It doesn't inherently mean the program is broken -- if you ended up with a ticket and could triple your investment, even a "verified" fan may seize that opportunity -- but it does violate the entire marketing campaign which is to ensure tickets don't get in the hands of resellers. It's not ideal from a pure business standpoint, so it's not going to happen, but this is an area where people would probably expect Ticketmaster (with urging from Taylor) to take more "action." Banning resales, and requiring you to return any tickets you don't want for a 1-to-1 refund, would obviously go a long way in winning people over. Again, not realistic, but something I'd imagine a lot wish they'd see. 4) Ticketmaster talking about bots in the same statement that says Verified Fan is a way to eliminate bots is another slap in the face. In this case, however, it's a direct sign of a broken system. If this sale is only available to verified customers, there has to be a way to restrict the general public (or bots) from accessing it. 5) I've seen some people with a "you snooze you lose" kind of tone here, but the big thing is that people didn't necessarily snooze. The tickets, as far as I understand it, were not necessarily distributed in a perfect first come, first serve model due to the tech issues. So, imagine the frustration of being assured a place in line, finding out that someone behind you in line got tickets over you, and then being told "better luck next time." There may not be much that can be DONE, but you're not human if you don't think that kind of stinks. 6) The idea that Ticketmaster couldn't have anticipated this is a bit of a farce, as there have been smaller-scale (but still notable) issues with other artists. And none would have had the obvious demand that this tour did. There are certain cases where tech issues are inexcusable. The cable going out during the Super Bowl, for example. This is another example. == There's unfortunately not much that can be done, and I think Taylor's statement was reasonable given all that happened. My only recommendation might have been to make some "little gestures" to show that she's going above and beyond. Restricting press/corporate attendees at the show (it's not like she needs the press or the money) and raffling off fan access to the VIP boxes is one idea. Pre-show meet-and-greets for select Verified Fans who didn't get tickets. Stuff like this. Obviously, this doesn't solve the problem for everyone - and actually opens Pandora's Box in that it gives people more to complain about. But I think something in this vein could have been helpful. I just don't understand why a thing as simple as getting a concert ticket has to be this complicated nowadays. This is Taylor Swift. Did her camp really think her tour wouldn't be sold-out if it just went on sale the traditional way? If it was a smaller artist who wanted to incentivise their audience to buy their album or merch then sure do what you have to do to sell your tix but Taylor Swift needs none of that. So why convolute the process so much in the first place?
|
|
Janhova's Witness
8x Platinum Member
Multi Pulse Award Winner
Joined: March 2009
Posts: 8,134
Pronouns: padam/padam
|
Post by Janhova's Witness on Nov 20, 2022 1:06:57 GMT -5
So immaculately prophetic
|
|