FOXBORO, Mass. — Fans of Taylor Swift were frustrated when they went online Tuesday to purchase tickets for the music star’s upcoming stadium tour and found that Ticketmaster was experiencing an array of technical issues caused by “historically unprecedented demand.”
[ Some lucky fans can start buying tickets Tuesday for Taylor Swift shows at Gillette Stadium ]
Fans who registered for Swift’s presale were emailed a special code and instructed to head to Ticketmaster at 10 a.m. for a chance to score early seats, but when users arrived on the website, they were greeted with a message that read, “We’re sorry! Something went wrong on our end, and we need to start over. Broken things are a drag - our team is on it, so it doesn’t happen again.”
Other attempts to load Ticketmaster prompted a message that read, “We are currently experiencing technical difficulties and our team is working to resolve this as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Please check back soon to continue.”
Others who were able to get tickets into their shopping baskets reported encountering a screen upon checkout that said, “Error 503 first byte timeout.”
Those who received a code were told that they would have exclusive access to purchase tickets starting at $49 up to $449.
In a tweet, Ticketmaster Fan Support stated, “If you received a code to the TaylorSwiftTix Presale, please login and access the queue through the link you received via text rather than entering through the Ticketmaster homepage. This will ensure an optimal shopping experience.”
Hours after customers suffered through the technical debacle, Ticketmaster provided an update announcing that West Coast sales will be delayed until 3 p.m. pacific time due “historically unprecedented demand.”
The Capitol One presale has also been pushed back until Wednesday at 2 p.m. local venue time for all shows, and Ticketmaster ensured customers that “all codes and links sent via text will still work at that time.”
Customers who were still in a queue for tickets were urged to “hang tight.”
Ticketmaster added that “hundreds of thousands” tickets had been sold, despite the widespread reports of the website errors.
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday at 10 a.m.
Swift is slated to perform at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on May 19, May 20, and May 21.
With the trio of concerts generating major buzz among fans in New England, the Boston Police Department issued a community alert, warning consumers of counterfeit tickets on the secondary market.
“The Boston Police Department reminds fans to be wary of counterfeit tickets and encourages them to only acquire tickets from authorized agencies. Anyone who purchases tickets from a secondary source are taking a chance and do so at their own risk,” the department wrote. “Officers want to proactively curb such activity and encourage buyers to only purchase from official vendors. Purchasing via other means creates the potential for possessing an invalid and/or counterfeit ticket.”
Anyone with information on the sale of counterfeit tickets is urged to contact the department’s CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS or texting the word ‘TIP’ to 27463.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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