Tickets to Taylor's Reputation Tour Are Not Selling Swiftly

Sky high prices are reportedly keeping fans from buying tickets to Taylor Swift’s upcoming Reputation tour, per a story by the New York Post. Though her 1989 world tour boasted numerous sold out performances (it eventually became the highest grossing tour of 2015), it appears her considerably more expensive snake persona is a tougher sell.

Last month, her “longtime” tour promoter told Billboard, “By the time all the tickets are sold next week, I’ll be celebrating Taylor’s birthday with a cocktail in my hand and sold-out concerts all over the world.” But her birthday has come and gone, and not one date has sold out.

Reputation was the biggest-selling album of 2017 and the tour is shaping up to be far from ill-attended, so the Post’s headline, “Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour shaping up to be a disaster,” is a little much. It does, however, highlight the problems with unpredictable pricing, scalpers, and Ticketmaster in general.

The company’s “Verified Fan” program, which they would like you to believe is all about rewarding music lovers, appears to be nothing but a cash grab that takes advantage of Swift-obsessed teens with easy access to their parents’ credit card numbers. People willing to drop $50 on merch, the Post reports, could “improve [their] position in line to purchase tickets.” And, once accessible, the tickets are often too expensive for many fans.

“I paid $150 for my ticket with amazing seats for the 1989 tour,” one fan wrote. “Now for the same seats I have to pay about $500.”

In related news, tickets to Katy Perry’s Friday show in New Orleans are currently starting at $23.