By David Friend in TORONTO
Snagging tickets for a Taylor Swift concert can feel like winning the lottery and so it's no surprise that many Canadian fans hope the odds work out in their favour as ticket sales begin on Wednesday.
Last week, the pop superstar announced six concert dates at Toronto's Rogers Centre in November 2024. And with it being the only Canadian stop on her Eras Tour, seats for the shows are certain to be in hot demand.
Here's what you need to know as the tickets begin to go on sale:
1. YOU MUST BE REGISTERED: If you're looking to grab Swift tickets right out of the gate, you already should've enrolled for the "verified fan" sale. Ticketmaster launched the registration process to weed out bots and scalpers, but the sign-up window closed over the weekend. Concertgoers who made the deadline will receive a unique access code on Tuesday with instructions on how to purchase tickets, though their pre-registration code does not guarantee they will get seats.
2. PRESALE TIMES ARE STAGGERED: Ticketmaster isn't looking for a repeat performance of the technical problems that marred some of Swift's past tour stops when a crush of fans overloaded their servers. For the Toronto dates, the rollout is designed to control traffic by rolling out sales for the six Rogers Centre shows over three days. The first two dates — Nov. 14 and 15, 2024 — go on sale Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET and 1 p.m. respectively, while the other dates follow in pairs over Thursday and Friday.
3. THERE ARE OTHER TICKET SALES WINDOWS: While "verified" fans get the first crack at Swift tickets, there will be at least one other chance to scoop up seats further down the road. Royal Bank customers who are Avion Rewards members get their own sales window for a limited number of tickets. Those windows begin seven days after each of the verified fan sale dates. Avion registration closes Tuesday.
4. DON'T EXPECT A PUBLIC SALE: Most performers eventually launch a general public sale for their concerts, but it's possible Swift won't. When the Ticketmaster website crashed under the weight of Swift demand last year, the company cancelled plans for its public sale, citing demand that "could have filled 900 stadiums." So far, it hasn't announced any plans for a public sale of the Toronto dates.
5. ASKING PRICES AREN'T SALES PRICES: As Swift tickets get into the hands of the public, it's almost inevitable that some people will immediately turn around and attempt to resell them at exorbitant markups. That means a ticket that originally cost a couple hundred dollars could theoretically list for thousands. But that doesn't mean they will sell for that much — a concert ticket relisted online is only worth as much as somebody is willing to pay for it.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2023.
