Canadian Swifties Demand A Change To Ticketmaster’s Policies
The Swifties will stop at nothing when it comes to their favorite artist—Taylor Swift. Recently, Canadian Swifties launched a change.org petition denouncing Ticketmaster. This comes after issues with the Verified Fan tickets on sale for the Toronto shows in November and December 2024. The die-hard fans were devastated when they could not purchase tickets for the six shows during The Eras Tour.
The petition reads,“Presale codes have gone out, using the‘verified fan’ registration process through Ticketmaster, however tickets are immediately being priced with dynamic pricing and being purchased for resale on third party ticket websites and social media for astronomical pricing.”
“Ticketmaster works with third-party resale sites and should be held accountable,” the petition declares. “You can also take action by filing a complaint about these ticket sale practices by contacting Consumer Protection Ontario (for the Toronto shows). Demand change for Ticketmaster’s resale policies and for laws to be implemented to cap resale prices at 50% above the original face value.”
The petition was issued by the Canadian Swifties on August 10 and currently stands at 15,120 signatures.
Resellers Steal Tickets From Fans Using “Verified Fan Process”
The Verified Fan process allows users to resell their tickets for a profit. But, this actually takes presale tickets away from fans and puts them into the hands of significantly more resellers. The resellers purchase tickets in abundance to sell at much higher costs. Swifties then must purchase the outrageous resale prices of up to $20,000 or hope for a unique access code through the RBC Avion Rewards exclusive deal.
“Fans currently don’t stand a chance at seeing their favorite artist, Taylor Swift, perform for a once in a lifetime show,” the petition states. “Fans are tired, hurt, frustrated and disappointed. We want to be able to support Taylor but feel like we have had our voices and opportunities taken away from us. She has taught us to be brave and stand up for ourselves, so now we are.”
The petition intends to make changes to Ticketmaster’s resale policies. They demand laws “to cap resale prices at 50% above the original face value.” Swifties in Canada strive to draw the attention of Canadian government officials, Swift herself, and Ticketmaster with the petition.
Live Nation & Eras Tour Mishap
Back in January 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee would conduct an inquiry discussing unethical practices within the live entertainment industry. Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation serves as a recent example. When the large influx of Swifties went to purchase concert tickets, bots took over Ticketmaster’s servers. And so, Swifties could not secure the tickets they had been longing for.
The presale debacle in 2022 made Swift herself take to Instagram to slam the company.
“I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked [Ticketmaster], multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could,” Swift stated. “It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”
