Taylor Swift’s upcoming world tour has been met with controversy over the way tickets are being sold.
The tour, which will promote her new album “Lover,” is set to begin in June and will feature stops in major cities across the globe.
Ticketmaster, the official ticket vendor for the tour, has been utilizing its Verified Fan program to distribute tickets. The program, which has been used successfully in the past by other artists like Ed Sheeran and Bruce Springsteen, uses a variety of factors to determine a fan’s “score,” including their purchase history and engagement with the artist’s social media accounts. Fans with high scores are given priority access to tickets when they go on sale, and also have the opportunity to purchase exclusive VIP packages and merchandise.
However, many fans have taken to social media to express their frustration with the Verified Fan program, claiming that it is unfair and does not guarantee them a chance to buy tickets. Some have criticized the program for being overly complex and for not taking into account factors like distance and financial ability.
Many fans reported that they spent hundreds of dollars on merchandise, downloads, and streaming of Swift’s album and music videos in an effort to raise their score, but still were not able to purchase tickets.
In addition, there have been widespread reports of tickets appearing on resale sites at inflated prices, leading some to accuse Ticketmaster of not doing enough to prevent scalping.
Taylor Swift has yet to comment on the controversy, and Ticketmaster has not made any official statement. However, it is clear that many fans are feeling frustrated and disappointed with the current ticketing system.
The tour is set to begin on June 5th in Paris, France, and will wrap up on November 21st in Tokyo, Japan. Many fans are eagerly awaiting the start of the tour and are hoping for a fair and transparent ticket-buying experience.

UPDATE: Taylor Swift reaches out through social media to express her feelings. “It goes without saying that I’m extremely protective of my fans,” she wrote on Nov. 18 on her Instagram story. “It’s really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.”