I like Taylor Swift. I really do. I find her supremely talented and brilliant, and - old school me - I own quite a few of her CDs. So I was delighted when my sister told me that she and my niece were going to see if they could get tickets for her 2023 tour, and asked if I wanted to come with. Why, yes. Yes I would.
We agreed that both Molly and I would try to get in on the early registration by seeing if we could make the cut as verified Taylor Swift fans.
Alas, although we signed up, we were not among the chosen few millions who gained entry into the first wave of the fray for tickets. Which meant that - blessedly - neither Molly nor I got sucked into in the first day cluster, in which some early birds were able to purchase tickets at face value, orders of magnitude more of those verified fans were left wanting. Waiting for hours only to get knocked out, once their trembling little finger was poised to hit the Purchase button. Thrown into the "dynamic pricing" jamboree during which, before your very eyes, the price you were just about to pay tripled - and even then, was scooped up before you considered whether you were going to pay triple the face value. Etc.
But, as Capital One cardholders, Molly and I were eligible for a second shot at early tickets.
Which meant queuing up on Wednesday for the privilege of waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
I was having double PTSD, double flashback.
To last spring, when I served time on Ticketmaster for Bruce Springsteen tickets for me and my sister (a BIG fan since high school). I made it into the verified fan for Boston pool; Trish - despite her longevity as a fan (I never was, until she won me over in 2007 by bringing me to a concert; I was sold) managed to claw her way into Albany, where tickets were a tiny bit more accessible than they were in Boston.
For Boston, although I went through the wait in the waiting room, the long queueing in the queue, and the mad dash for tickets, my desire was unrequited.
A few days later, things were looking marginally better in Albany, when Trish and I decided that a hotel, gas and tolls, and general wear and tear would cost us plenty. So, fuck it. I went back onto Ticketmaster and got us a couple of tickets for a boatload more than I originally intended to pay. They were for sale on Ticketmaster's legal scalping site, where those who get in early and grab extra tickets are able to mark them up and sell them. For joy! At least I know they're legitimate scalpers tickets, and not something I got off a guy in a dark alley near the Boston Garden.
I just mentioned that I was double PTSD-ing. Make that triple.
I had forgotten that before I got tickets for Boston, I'd spent the wee hours of a late winter's morning trying to get Bruce tickets for Trish, me, and Molly for Dublin (where Molly is studying for the year).
I actually had the tickets in (almost but not quite) virtual hand but, alas, couldn't pay, because Ticketmaster in Ireland requires you to have an Irish zip code in order to pay. Grrrrr, grrrrr, a thousand times grrrrrr.
There went the fantasy of a quick, fun trip to Ireland to see The Boss.
At least we have Boston. (If I can trust the Ticketmaster app, since there's no such thing as a paper or even emailed-to-you tickets anymore.)
The other flashback was, of course, to the vaccine free-for-all of 2021.
Back to Ticketmaster.
You'd think there'd be a better way.
How about a lottery system where everyone can enter, and where they only chose as many winners (assuming each will purchase 4 or 6 tickets) as there are seats? Assign the windows during which they can buy their tickets, and guarantee they'll get some. Then free up everything else to the general public.
Of course, this wouldn't allow Ticketmaster (and the performers) to reap the benefits of dynamic pricing.
I'm sure there are plenty of other ideas on how to improve the process.
But why should Ticketmaster (or the performers) give a hoot? If the artists are wildly popular - as are Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen, who are both probably more popular than vaccines even - both Ticketmaster and "the artists" make out brilliantly. Fan frustration, pain, suffering, agony diminishes for those who were able to find tickets. And for the rest of them, there's always next tour.
As for Taylor Swift, while I was still in the queue, Molly - having gotten in ahead of me (I had gotten caught up in some server error hoohah) had already begun the fabulous Ticketmaster shopping experience. A lightbulb went off in my head, and it occurred to me that it might not be all that easy to find three tickets. So I texted her to go for two tickets (for herself and her mother) if that's all she could find.
The luck of the Irish - did I mention that she's in Dublin? - was with Molly and she was able to score two tickets. At face value. Good thing she switched the number, because she had been looking for three tickets and was finding nothing. (In retrospect, we should have gone for four tickets and sold the fourth off at a scalper price to help cover our cost.)
While I'm a tiny bit disappointed, I will shake it off. (Shake it off.) I'm delighted for Trish and Molly. And was relieved to be able to quit out of the interminable wait to buy or not buy tickets.
Meanwhile, Ticketmaster has announced that they're cancelling the ticket sale to the general public, which had been slated for today. Seems like between the verified presale and the Capital One presale, the concerts are just about sold out.
BTW, since Molly won't be back in Boston for the local Taylor Swift concerts, the tickets are for Chicago in June.
I will most likely go with them for the weekend. What's not to love about Chicago? (Other than the accent.)
Aside to my cousin Ellen: you around on June 4th for dinner while Molly and Trish are at the Taylor Swift concert?
Meanwhile, I am not able to shake off how I feel about Ticketmaster...
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