Ticketek Insiders Reveal How To Increase Your Taylor Swift Ticket Chances

27 June 2023 | 1:35 pm | Ellie Robinson

More than a million people have visited the Ticketek website over the past week.

Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift (Source: Supplied)

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Presale tickets to the Australian leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour go on sale tomorrow (June 28), and ahead of it, TheMusic has connected with a spokesperson for Ticketek to learn how we can increase our chances of getting through the queue.

ICYMI, Swift announced five shows for local Swifties last week, hitting Melbourne (Naarm) and Sydney (Eora) next February – she’ll play two dates at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and three at Sydney’s Accor Stadium. 

The first round of presales, exclusive to American Express customers, kicked off in Sydney yesterday morning (June 26). Taking advantage of the early access wasn’t as easy as everyone had hoped, though: the American Express website crashed shortly before sales open, and the only way to access the Ticketek landing page for tickets was through a link on that website.

The second presale will begin tomorrow – 10am for Sydney and 2pm for Melbourne – and will be available to all members of Frontier Touring’s mailing list. It’ll have a much wider pool of potential concertgoers than the American Express presale, particularly since that only offered the two most expensive VIP packages (priced respectively at $899.90 and $1,249.90) and Frontier’s presale will have all ticket options available to purchase. Naturally, many of Swift’s fans are worried the Ticketek website won’t be able to withstand the traffic.

Speaking to TheMusic, an unnamed Ticketek spokesperson said the company has prepared for a surge in Swifties eager to get their mitts on those sweet, sweet Eras tour tix. Since the tour was announced at 2am last Wednesday morning (June 21), more than one million people have visited the Ticketek website in preparation for sales opening. The company expects this number to grow even more when tickets do become available, with their spokesperson noting they expect to see “demand for tickets be far greater than what is available”. 

To be more specific, Ticketek has already seen “record level interest” for the Australian leg of the Eras tour, and expect to host ten times more site traffic than the American Express presale generated yesterday. 

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“There is no doubt that there are going to be many disappointed fans given the demand for tickets,” the spokesperson said. “We are encouraging all fans to follow our helpful tips to ensure their best chance at securing tickets, and to not purchase tickets through unauthorised resellers.” Ticketek will be the only official merchant for Australian Eras tour tickets.

The spokesperson said Ticketek will aim to “prioritise fair access to tickets for all fans”, advising those keen for tomorrow’s sale to create an account on the Ticketek website in advance, have their Frontier presale codes ready, remember not to close or refresh their browser while they wait in the queue, and keep an eye on the checkout timer at the top of their screen when they do eventually make it through.

“Despite what many fans may post on socials, queuing is not their enemy,” the spokesperson said. “This is our way of prioritising fair access to tickets for all fans. Fans must remember to not leave the Lounge page or refresh their browser. The page will refresh itself frequently to let more fans through to purchase. Once fans are in the Lounge, they should sit tight and wait to be let through to the event page. And then once they’re through they need to remember to keep an eye on the timer and complete their purchase within the time frame.”

Here is Ticketek’s full list of official Eras tour ticket-buying tips:

1. Double check your Ticketek account and payment details are up to date. Have your login details handy as you will need them to complete your purchase.

2. If you are a Frontier Member, save your presale code. This will be sent to you by Frontier Touring and will be needed to access the Frontier presale.

3. Gather your fellow fans and plan your purchase by agreeing on the performance date, ticket price category and any packages you want to purchase.

4. Visit Ticketek at least 15 minutes prior to tickets going on sale. Follow the designated link for your desired city to be taken to the Ticketek Lounge.

5. Please do not leave the Lounge page or refresh your browser. The page will refresh itself frequently to let more fans through to purchase. Once you are in the Lounge, sit tight and wait to be let through to the event page.

6. Once you are through, keep an eye on the timer and complete your purchase within the time frame.

For more info on the Australian leg of the Eras tour, head here. You can also see here for more info on the ongoing American Express presale, and here for both the general sale and Frontier presale.

Following the news that Swift would only visit Melbourne and Sydney on the Eras tour, fans in cities outside those areas took to social media to share their outrage. Politicians joined them, with Parliamentary figures in Perth (Boorloo), Brisbane (Meanjin) and Adelaide (Kaurna) all hitting out at Swift for dodging their venues.

Just yesterday, though, we got a glimmer of hope that Swift might announce further shows Down Under: she’s just added three new dates in Singapore, sparking wishes that she might do the same for her fans in Australia.

The local leg of Swift’s Eras tour will mark her first time Down Under since 2018, when she hit four cities – Perth and Brisbane alongside Melbourne and Sydney – in support of her Reputation album. She’s since released four original studio albums (Lover in 2019, Folklore and Evermore in 2020, and Midnights in 2022) and two Taylor’s Version remakes of previous efforts (Fearless and Red, both in 2021).

A third Taylor’s Version remake album – a new take on her 2010 LP Speak Now – will be released on July 7 via Republic, as revealed at one of the Nashville dates of the Eras tour. Earlier this month, Swift shared the album’s full tracklist, sporting guest spots from Fall Out Boy and Paramore’s Hayley Williams. That news came shortly after Swift was named the second richest woman in music, with a net worth of $740 million.

Also this month, the Eras tour was hyped up by none other than Gwen Stacy (RIP) herself, Emma Stone. In a chat with Vanity Fair, the Hollywood heavyweight raved about her time at the opening date of Swift’s tour in Arizona: “The concert was pretty amazing,” she said. “I was lucky ’cause we’ve been friends for a really long time. I’ve known her since we were 17 and 18, so she hooked me up, which was very nice ’cause I know those tickets are impossible to get.

“She’s a wonderful friend. She blows my mind. I mean, the amount of sheer stamina to do three and a half hours and perform 44 songs and to maintain the extreme energy of the audience – I’ve never seen anything like it.”

TAYLOR SWIFT
‘ERAS’ 2024 AUSTRALIAN TOUR
with special guest SABRINA CARPENTER

Friday February 16 – Naarm/Melbourne, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Saturday February 17 – Naarm/Melbourne, Melbourne Cricket Ground
Friday February 23 – Gadigal/Sydney, Accor Stadium
Saturday February 24 – Gadigal/Sydney, Accor Stadium
Sunday February 25 – Gadigal/Sydney, Accor Stadium