Illustration by Carolyn Burt, SCNG
When it comes to Taylor Swift, Swifties are going to pay, pay, pay and the resellers are going to sell, sell, sell.
On August 31, Taylor Swift announced she was bringing her sold-out Eras Tour to movie theaters across North America.
The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon
Starting Oct 13th you’ll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America! Tickets are on sale now at… pic.twitter.com/eKRqS8C7d1
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) August 31, 2023
“Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Concert Film” was captured during the first three shows of her six-night stay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood back in August.
There is a CAMERA CREW ON STAGE at the ERAS TOUR LA N1 #ErasTour #TSErasTourLA pic.twitter.com/FqJESBAirr
— star girl (@taylorsfavswift) August 4, 2023
Notice of filming at the entrance of LA Night two! #TSErasTour #TSErasTourLA #ErasTour pic.twitter.com/D61hozzzKR
— Nora (@Nora35058365) August 5, 2023
Swifties were quick to buy tickets for the October 13 opening night. AMC announced that the movie had already broken the record for advance ticket sales which had previously been held by Marvel’s Spiderman: No Way Home. Because of the demand, AMC shared that the film will play at least four showtimes per day Thursdays-Sundays at every AMC theatre location in the United States. The movie is also being shown at Regal and Cinemark Theaters.
The announcement of the film was a cause of celebration for many fans who either wanted to relieve the experience or were unable to see it during the first leg of the tour because of ticket demand and resale prices.
Swift’s previous two concert films went straight to streaming platforms, the “1989 World Tour Live” was available exclusively to watch through Apple Music and “Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour” premiered on Netflix.
Swifities took to social media to share their excitement that traditions from the Eras Tour would continue with the movie going experience. For Swift’s concerts, it’s become common for fans to dress up in looks inspired by the pop singer. However, new to the Eras Tour, fans have begun making friendship bracelets inspired by lyrics in Swift’s song “You’re on Your Own, Kid.”
Everyone should make glow in the dark bracelets for the eras tour movie!!! pic.twitter.com/l72CfWhV3Z
— 𝒮𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒽 (𝒯𝒶𝓎𝓁𝑜𝓇’𝓈 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃) (@giftedswifted) September 1, 2023
Fans who attend at AMC theaters will receive a free mini Eras Tour poster and will have the option to purchase a collectable Eras Tour popcorn bucket and cup.
Tickets start at $19.89 for adults, a nod to Swift’s birth year and her 2014 album that she announced will be her next to rerecord.
However, hours after tickets went on sale for the film, fans began to notice people were reselling tickets to the opening night on E-commerce sites, with one ticket for the 10:30 p.m. showing in Century City reselling for $260. By Sunday, it appeared that many of the ticket links were no longer active, although it is not clear if they were taken down by the seller or the site.
Fans took to social media to share their disappointment that the movie tickets were being resold for a profit.
people trying to resell taylor swift movie tickets for $300
LMAOOOOOOOOO
— mik (@mikspad) August 31, 2023
I will die laughing if people start to resell Taylor Swift movie tickets now.
$15 tickets nah they’re $40 now— Coach Blair (
‘23 District Champs) (@MisterSnyder23) August 31, 2023
Makes me sick seeing scalpers who bought @taylorswift13 ‘s ticket for her concert film selling it on ebay for $300-$700. Like hello?!?! It’s not a one day showing. They are the reason why we can’t have nice things here on earth.
#erastourmovie #Erastour #TaylorSwift #Amc
— 𝓕 𝓻 𝓪 𝓷 𝓬 𝓱 𝓮 𝓼 𝓬 𝓪
(@chescazurin) September 1, 2023
TAYLOR SWIFT MOVIE TICKETS, ALREADY ON EBAY.. AMC pic.twitter.com/D9NEjXyrGb
— Shari Ann "SHERLOCK" (@ShariAn59978536) August 31, 2023
@mizlisalisa #stitch with @LisaLisa19 #taylorswift #swiftie #swifties #swifttok #erasmovie #theerastour #erastourmovie #taylornation #taylorswifttok #taylormovie #theerasmovie #cinemark #ticketreselling
This isn’t the first time that fans of Swift have been priced out of experiences because of resellers.
Back in March when the Eras Tour first began, Swift began selling her merchandise outside of the venues in a truck. Swift had provided the merch truck during her Reputation Stadium Tour, which gives an opportunity for fans to purchase items that were being sold exclusively at the concert before their show, or for those who were unable to attend to be able to have access to the merchandise.
@sarahlnguyen survived the great war #taylorswift #erastour #taylorswifterastour #merchtrucktaylorswift #merchtruck #philadelphia #taylorswiftmerch
@soy.caro.f eras tour merch truck in atl #taylorswift #theerastour #theerastouratlanta #erastour #erastourtaylorswift #erastouratlanta #taylorsversion #taylornation #lavenderhaze #erastourmerch #erastourmerchtruck #fyp #foryoupage #taylorswiftmerch
However, in the five years since Swift’s last tour, her new popularity status has led to hours long lines for her merchandise. Some items in particular have been the eye of many fans such as a blue crewneck that says “Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour” on the front and features the different tour stops on the back. Because of this an item limit was enforced at shows.
@taylorswift13 @taylornation13 #TaylorSwift y’all need to do something about this, only let ticketed people buy merch or put a limit of 2 per item! This is absolutely ridiculous
Also the person helping her put it in the suitcase is also a merch worker???? pic.twitter.com/bBCtNjRp7w— ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ MEL ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ (@mcnuggetmel) March 30, 2023
@bayleymcclure This should nottt be a thing lol #erastour @taylorswift
Sitting on the "waiting list" for "Verified Fans" as scalpers/resellers get access to buy tickets. StubHub is reselling at DISGUSTING prices. It'll never end with Ticket Master. Constant disappointment. C'est la vie
#Toronto #Ticketmaster #TaylorSwift #ErasTourToronto pic.twitter.com/Wak6rtG7G3
— Jess Morgan
(@jlynnemorgan86) August 9, 2023
But perhaps the biggest disappointment for fans was the gauging ticket prices that came from bots taking over the queue for the Eras Tour. The process of purchasing tickets for the first leg of the tour was difficult for many. Tickets were available to purchase through Ticketmaster with fans signing up in advance for their Verified Fan presale. The program is meant to help artists sell tickets directly to their fans instead of scalpers and resellers.
However, when the presale began on Nov. 15, there were immediate delays and crashes. Ultimately many fans were left frustrated that they were unable to purchase tickets despite being a verified fan.
when you're trying to get taylor swift tix but ticketmaster keeps crashing pic.twitter.com/FOSdMrIP2Y
— Megan Plevy (@mplevz) November 15, 2022
That morning, Ticketmaster shared an update on the situation, noting that there had been a “historically unprecedented demand.” Ticketmaster later noted in an official statement on their website that around 1.5 million people were given codes to join the queue for the 52 shows, and that 2 million had been placed on the waitlist. However, on the day of the Verified Fan sale, their site expired 3.5 billion total system requests.
— Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) November 15, 2022
Swift took to her Instagram to address the ticket situation, citing that “There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward.”
Fans were frustrated by the experience, and that tickets were already being resold for on third-party selling sites, with some tickets going as high as $45,000. Swift has since extended her tour through 2024 with new international shows with stops including Australia, Singapore and Europe.
Originally published at Carolyn Burt