Taylor Swift fans blast Ticketmaster as 'unprecedented' presale demand slows site

Angry Taylor Swift fans stormed Ticketmaster's social media Tuesday, after high demand from ticket buyers who had preregistered on its site for the pop star's  "Eras" tour experienced hourslong delays, frozen screens and other difficulties.

The presale, which began Tuesday at 10 a.m. for those in Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, quickly encountered problems, forcing the company to respond that it was "working to get fans through as quickly as possible" and to reschedule a separate planned presale for Capital One cardholders at 2 p.m. until Wednesday at the same time. General-public tickets remain scheduled to go on sale Friday, although it was unclear if any would be available.

Customers castigated the company on social media. "[F]inally in after 4 hours of waiting and my code doesnt work I was told to try again and it is now frozen," tweeted one irate buyer. Posted another, "I've been staring at this screen for 5+ hours now and it still says 2000+ in front of me."

Some fans who had blocked off time Tuesday to buy tickets said the postponement had effectively shut them out. "What about those of us who took off work today and now can’t participate in presale that have been moved to tomorrow??" wrote one. Tweeted another, "This is not OK. I rearranged my entire work schedule to be free today."

Many took issue with Ticketmaster's explanation. Announcing the postponement on Twitter early Tuesday afternoon, the ticketing monolith blamed "historically unprecedented demand with millions showing up to buy tickets," and noted "[h]undreds of thousands of tickets have been sold."

" 'Unprecedented demand.' You literally sent out the codes," tweeted one person. Dozens agreed, with one writing, "They knew exactly how many people received codes … they’re literally the ones who sent them." Another Twitter user accused the company of "gaslighting us as if they didn’t know exactly how many codes they sent out."

Many aimed their ire at service fees they said ranged from $50 to $300. "At this point seriously take off the fees, y’all have failed everyone and has [sic] wasted people’s days," tweeted one person. "Exactly! Why should we pay them a fee for failing?" wrote another.

A few wondered, as one person wrote, "Funny how all the resellers were able to buy tickets just fine but the actual fans who have been waiting their whole lives [and] made it to the front of the line, the seat selection screen, or even the payment screen then were kicked to the back of the queue ... ."

Ticketmaster representatives did not respond to a detailed Newsday email seeking clarity on the company's explanation.

Swift's tour, which added a slew of dates since the original announcement, is scheduled to begin March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, and conclude Aug. 9 in Los Angeles. Swift — who received four Grammy Award nominations Tuesday, bringing her total to 46, with 11 wins — added a third consecutive day to her stand at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, stretching it through May 28.