Albertans get swept up in “Swiftie mania” battling other Canadians for tickets | Globalnews.ca
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“Swiftie mania” is sweeping through Canada and Alberta isn’t immune.
Airdrie resident Keely Brown was just one of many Taylor Swift superfans hoping to snag tickets Wednesday, to one of the singer’s six shows next year in Toronto.
“My first thought was yup, I’m going to try,” she said after hearing the concert announcement.
She was hoping to buy four tickets — but wasn’t expecting much — knowing the demand was huge.
“I thought I’m battling every Swift fan in Canada as well as probably a good chunk of America,” she told Global News. “I really didn’t think that it was going to happen.”
To her surprise, she got a “verified fan code” as well as a time to log in to Ticketmaster. She followed all of the steps and was soon the proud owner of four tickets — worth $181 each.
“I got the tickets!” she told Global News excitedly.
Keely Brown and friend at Taylor Swift concert in Seattle.
Courtesy: Keely Brown
Ticketmaster released tickets to fans who registered in advance in an effort to weed out bots and professional resellers. But many Canadians took to social media to call out the ticket seller, accusing it of shutting them out.
Posts on Twitter angrily asked Ticketmaster “Tell me again how you’re getting tickets into the hands of ‘verified fans’?”
Many others said they had been “waitlisted” and were still waiting.
Brown, who saw the megastar in concert in Seattle in July, with her three friends who are going again this time, said she felt sorry for those who didn’t get a code.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s kind of the luck of the draw and I do feel for everybody who didn’t get tickets.”
Swift’s popularity gives local businesses a boost
Taylor Swift’s popularity transcends her recent songs. She’s also an acclaimed country star. Her hits, year after year, have her fans coming back.
Great news for Calgary record store Hot Wax.
“Probably one of our high sellers,” Zach Cressman said. “It’s great because she puts all of her stuff out on vinyl – so it brings people into the shop.”
Cressman said once they’re in, he can expose them to other artists.
“You know if we can expose kids to local Canadian artists who sound like Taylor Swift that’s great too.”
Tickets for Swift’s Nov. 16 and 21 shows will go on sale Thursday, and the artist’s last shows on Nov. 22 and 23 will be available for purchase Friday.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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