INDONESIA — Taylor Swift fans across Southeast Asia are eagerly anticipating the highly anticipated concert series by the global pop sensation.
The concerts, scheduled to take place on 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9 March 2024 at the National Stadium in Singapore, have generated immense excitement among her Southeast Asian fan base.
Given that Singapore is the only country in Southeast Asia that Taylor Swift will visit during her “The Eras” concert tour, it is no surprise that fans from other Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, are also vying for tickets to her performances.
The ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s concert are being conducted through two methods: a special presale exclusively for UOB cardholders on Wednesday, 5 July 2023, and a general sale for the public on Friday, July 7, 2023, via the ticketmaster.sg platform.
As predicted, the presale for Taylor Swift’s 2024 concert in Singapore has become a highly competitive affair. According to Channel News Asia on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, hashtags such as “SingaporeTSTheErasTour,” “Ticketmaster,” and “Taylor Swift” trended on Twitter as ticket buyers eagerly queued up for their chance to purchase tickets.
On Wednesday (5 Jul), the queue for purchasing presale tickets on the ticketmaster.sg website reached a staggering 1.5 million people.
This number exceeded the unique ticket sales curation system implemented by Taylor Swift to prevent fraudulent purchases through bots.
Approximately three hours after the presale began, Ticketmaster, through its official Instagram account, announced that all presale tickets for Taylor Swift’s concert had been sold out. Unfortunately, the exact number of tickets sold during the presale was not disclosed.
Some buyers mentioned that the waitlist with millions of people progressed slowly, even slower than the queue for Coldplay tickets, which had experienced overwhelming demand in the past. Some users encountered an error notification stating “rate exceeded.” However, Ticketmaster promptly resolved the access issue.
Indonesian netizens also expressed concerns about their inability to log in to the ticketmaster.sg platform, voicing their frustrations on social media.
“Ticketmaster, I’ve entered all the details, but I can’t submit because I can’t log in,” tweeted @ni_***.
“We haven’t received the code yet,” said @url****.
“Forget it, I’ll just cry in the corner if this is how it’s going,” expressed @Nau***.
Meanwhile, @kam*** stated, “I’m still stuck in a queue with over a million people.”
@arun**** expressed their disappointment, saying, “Feel so sad and unfair to see resellers and TikTok Swifties getting tickets when the real Swiftie is waitlisted.”
Gaming internet cafes also became a target for Indonesian Swifties to obtain tickets.
For instance, at TNC Kemanggisan gaming internet cafe in West Jakarta. The rental rate for the VIP room was Rp 11,000 per hour.
Some Swifties even took a half-day off from work to secure their tickets. When they accessed the website, the queue had already reached approximately 300,000 people.
They brought their personal laptops and attempted to access the website using their mobile phone’s internet connection.
“Just trying on a few devices,” explained one Swiftie regarding their decision to continue using their laptop while at the gaming internet cafe.
Some fans who had successfully secured tickets for Coldplay concerts mentioned that getting tickets for Taylor Swift in Singapore was even more challenging.
This is likely due to Swift only visiting two countries in Asia, resulting in a more competitive ticketing environment.
In response to the ticketing issues, Ticketmaster wrote on its official Facebook account, “While most transactions were unaffected, we are aware that some customers appear to be experiencing issues with the site. We are investigating and will share more information soon. Please stay on the site, as we are checking this quickly and will provide updates as soon as possible.”
During this time, ticket resale listings appeared on various platforms, with prices reaching up to S$2,500 or approximately IDR 27.8 million. These prices were double the original value of S$1,228 or approximately IDR 13.65 million.
Regarding the presale ticket sales, Jacquelyn Tan, Head of Group Personal Financial Services at Bank UOB, stated that they experienced a significant increase in credit card applications, not only in Singapore but also across ASEAN countries.
“Average daily credit card applications for UOB in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam during the week of June 21-27, 2023, increased by 45 percent compared to the previous weeks of that month. Applications for debit card applications in Singapore and Vietnam rose by nearly 130 percent,” she explained.
For Swifties who were unable to secure tickets during the UOB presale, the general ticket sale will commence on 7 July at 12:00 PM (SGT) or 11:00 AM (WIB).
Those who received a unique access code via email will have the opportunity to access ticketmaster.sg for purchasing Taylor Swift concert tickets in Singapore.
The unique access codes received on 5 July, will serve as special access for fans to purchase a maximum of four tickets.
Since the exact timing of receiving the access codes was not provided, Swifties are advised to regularly check their email and spam folders for updates. Additionally, selected fans will also receive access codes via SMS from Ticketmaster.
Starting at 2 pm on 5 July, some Swifties began receiving emails with their access codes. Furthermore, some fans were seen offering to sell their access codes on social media platforms.
The “The Eras” concert series is expected to become the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, with ticket sales already surpassing US$1 billion or approximately IDR 15.03 trillion.
However, the exact revenue for this concert has yet to be reported as Billboard Boxscore, the data tracking system for concert tours, has not released the gross earnings.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the concert features a repertoire of 40 songs with intricate choreography and over a dozen costume changes. In terms of gross revenue from ticket sales, merchandise, and sponsorship, it has exceeded Elton John’s farewell concert.
In December 2022, Billboard predicted that Taylor Swift would generate US$590 million or approximately IDR 886.82 billion from her 52 tours. However, with the current demand for her concerts, it is expected that her earnings will surpass this estimate.
While the exact revenue figures are yet to be determined, Taylor Swift’s “The Eras” concert series continues to captivate fans and break records.
The anticipation and excitement surrounding her performances in Southeast Asia, particularly in Singapore, are a testament to her enduring popularity and the immense support from her loyal fan base.
As the general ticket sale approaches, fans are urged to stay vigilant and prepared for another wave of high demand.
Taylor Swift’s concerts are known for their unforgettable experiences, and fans are eagerly awaiting their chance to be a part of this historic event.
