The singer-songwriter who captivated her fans with the release of her latest album, Midnights,  announced a tour that took the world by storm. On November 1st, 2022, Taylor Swift made posts on social media with news of her upcoming tour, the first in five years.

The Eras Tour will cover much of her discography, since she was not able to tour the release of her last six studio albums. Of course, fans were thrilled upon hearing this news. The presale for verified fans and Capital One users was set for November 15th, 2022. 

 When presale finally arrived, the insurmountable demand for tickets led to major glitches on the Ticketmaster site. Fans had to wait in line for hours, and many left the website empty-handed. Over two million tickets were sold that day, which caused Swift to break the record for most tickets ever sold by an artist in one day. 

Ticketmaster has held a tight reign over the live entertainment industry for decades, and this control escalated following its merging with its biggest competitor, Live Nation. The company has since bought out almost every minor form of competition and holds full control over the industry. More than 80% of live concerts are controlled by Ticketmaster, according to Yale University. 

Because of the complications and insufficient ticket inventory, the general sale to the public for Taylor Swift’s tour was canceled. This news was devastating to millions of fans. Many “Swifties” spoke about their disappointment, explaining they were frustrated that despite having been fans for years, they did not even get a chance to try to buy tickets. Taylor Swift made a post expressing her sadness over the controversy.