After a 6-month U.S. tour that barely touched South Florida, Taylor Swift is set to bring the much anticipated Eras Tour to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for three nights in October 2024.
When Swift first announced her tour in November 2022, UM Swifties bought tickets to the only Florida stop in Tampa and traveled there in April to see the award-winning artist. Other students purchased hometown tickets to see the singer as she visited numerous cities from May to August.
When Swift announced she was finally bringing her tour to the 305, Miami Swifties were thrilled. Millions flocked to register for the Verified Fan Onsale, hoping that Miami residency would give them some sort of advantage in the battle for tickets.
That was not the case. A survey of UM students showed that only 15% of respondents received a code for the Verified Fan Onsale, a sign that seeing Swift in Miami would be a treacherous feat. Only 13% of respondents were actually able to purchase tickets.
Ainsley Nelson, a sophomore studying musical theater and public relations, is one of the many students who were unable to obtain tickets. Though she saw Swift in Detroit over the summer, she and many of her friends were unsuccessful in obtaining both tickets or pre-sale codes for the Miami nights.
“I’m really upset,” Nelson said. “Not just for me, but for everyone who didn’t get tickets — especially those of which this was their only opportunity. I wish there was a better system, especially with scalpers buying all of the tickets.”
Junior musical theatre major Max Ilan also did not receive a code to purchase tickets. He claimed Ticketmaster’s “Verified Fan” system does not ensure that true fans can purchase tickets, which contrasts the verification system used for Taylor Swift’s 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour.
“Taylor had a system where if you streamed her music or bought merchandise, you would be bumped up in line for a presale code,” Ilan said. “It is egregious that there are no laws in the US to protect against ticket scalping, like there are in many other countries.”
In Brazil, the “Taylor Swift Law” was introduced in June to protect citizens against ticket scalping. Countries like Portugal, Italy, France and Belgium have banned the resale of tickets above face value.
Ticketmaster claimed that all Miami tickets would go to verified fans, but extremely high-resale prices say otherwise. On StubHub, the lowest cost for night one tickets is just over $1000 for a seat in the very back corner, likely with an obstructed view of the stage.
For the Sunday night concert on SeatGeek, the lowest ticket price is nearly $900 for another obstructed-view nosebleed seat.
Some UM students, like junior political science and history major Julian Ramos, beat the odds and secured tickets for a Miami show. Though he purchased tickets, he did not receive a code himself.
“I registered both [my] mom and dad, and [my] dad ended up getting a code,” Ramos said. “As I clicked through about seven different seat options, they all sold out during the checkout process.”
Obtaining the tickets was an uphill battle. Ramos was number 7000 in line once entering the queue, but once he made it to the front, he managed to secure a ticket despite the chaos.
Aris Montero, a junior studying creative advertising and communications studies, also had an unconventional ticket experience. Not anticipating Swift’s Miami announcement, she flew to Los Angeles in August to see Taylor Swift at Sofi Stadium.
For the Miami shows in 2024, Montero will see Swift live through the kindness of a friend who purchased an extra ticket.
As the concert dates near, resale prices may decrease for UM Swifties who missed out this time around. Until then, fans can watch the filmed version of the Eras Tour, which Swift announced will air in theaters on Oct. 13. AMC tickets are currently on sale for $19.89.