‘Taylor Swift Tix’: the new brutal marketing for true fans

Did you ever think that you might pay an additional fee to jump to the front of the queue to get your favourite artist’s live tour ticket?

With most live performances by famous artists, getting hold of a ticket can be very difficult. This is because of scalpers, who are quick to buy these tickets and then resell them as ghost tickets at unfair prices to true fans (Marc, 2017). Over the years, many methods have been used to combat bots and scalpers, such as “Audio Codes” and a “Verified Fan” system (Marc, 2017). However, a new ticketing plan has recently been announced by Taylor Swift, and is called ‘Taylor Swift Tix’. She has partnered with Ticketmaster, the ticket sales and distribution company (Bizub, 2017). Swift has said that the system contributes to preventing scalpers and bots from getting their hands on tour tickets before her fans, thus promoting “unique activities that advance your spot in line” (Taylor Swift, 2017).

How Does ‘Taylor Swift Tix’ Work?

According to the people behind ‘Taylor Swift Tix’, fans will have to prove they are genuine by completing a registration form on the website; following this, the portal will direct members to participate in various "boost activities” (Taylor Swift, 2017). The website offers many ways for fans to get a virtual spot in line, which leads to better access to tickets. However, to get the highest boost, people must pay money to purchase something from her. For instance,

1. Pre-order Reputation: Order Reputation album ahead of time, and be awarded with a boost. Genuine fans can buy as many as 13 albums

2. Shop for new reputation merchandise: Purchase anything bearing the Taylor Swift Tix badge as many items as you can manage, and receive a boost (Taylor Swift, 2017).

To get the highest boost, fans must pay US$195 to pre-order 13 albums and more merchandise, which costs US$15-90 per item. However, there are additional ways in which to get boost points, without making purchases: watching her music videos, engaging her on social media platforms, and even using Taylor’s Facebook Frame for your profile photo. With this said, non-purchasing activities provide true fans with a lower boost (Taylor Swift, 2017).

Understand a Brand and an Audience

Although David Marcus, EVP, Head of Music for Ticketmaster North America, reported that ‘Taylor Swift Tix’ has a lot of advantages, and has proven effective in eliminating scalpers while simultaneously rewarding her supporters for their dedication. I personally argue that there are some fans who are frustrated by this initiative. In addition, this strategy is a disintermediation, because Taylor Swift will earn a huge amount of money by cutting out the middleman market.

First of all, the ticket prices have not been announced, and thus her true fans have no idea when the tickets will be sold and how much they will cost. Taylor Swift offers her true fans the chance to participate in her ticketing plan without announcing the prices. The Taylor Swift tour ticket is a product, and her fans are consumers who are going crazy about the upcoming tour. This sounds like hunger marketing – a successful psychological strategy which is used when consumers are willing to pay for a product that they have been waiting for.

Moreover, this ticketing plan has been created for privilege members (Bizub, 2017). Swift has turned ticket purchasing for her upcoming tour into a game for wealthy fans; the game is simple – pay to win. For those who are not able to purchase her merchandise and pre-order her ‘Reputation’ album, there is a smaller chance of accessing tickets (Taylor Swift, 2017). The tour tickets are the supply, and her fans’ needs are the demand. Swift is aware that the demand drastically exceeds the supply. Although she has claimed that the process is about trying to combat scalpers, and please her true fans, this is contradicted by the fact that fans can pre-order her upcoming album up to 13 times. Moreover, while she has released only two singles from her entire album, the game has already been opened for wealthy fighters (refer to the date of writing, 18th October 2017).

What’s more, collecting lots of points means that fans have a better chance of being able to purchase tickets, although this does not guarantee that they will get the tickets. Swift’s fans have no idea about how many boost points they will need to accumulate in order to access the ticketing system. This is another psychological strategy, which encourages the targeted consumers to fight each other without knowing the goal. Taylor Swift will be the only one who is better off as a result of the campaign.

Create Her Marketing Communications

With regard to the ‘Taylor Swift Tix’ activities, the genius singer requires her true fans to engage with her on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Fans’ accounts will be given a boost if they follow her and like her pages (Taylor Swift, 2017). These activities have a huge impact on her social world, and will turn her into a perpetuated social phenomenon in 2017.

Conclusion

We have learned about many marketing strategies by analysing the ‘Taylor Swift Tix’ programme. This programme could help to eliminate scalpers and bots from the ticketing system. However, this marketing scheme could also thin out the group of fans who want to purchase tickets for Swift’s concerts; this is because the system is based on pre-activities, including the amount of money spent. This responsibility should be handled by Ticketmaster instead. It is clear that Ticketmaster should refrain from charging fans more money for the right to perhaps be able to purchase a ticket. It seems that Taylor Swift is attempting to replace herself with scalpers by eliminating an unfair resale process between the middleman in the secondary market. Taylor wins! What do you think about ‘Taylor Swift Tix’? Is this strategy brutal?

References

Bartleet L. (2017). Rou Reynolds calls Taylor Swift ticket plan "sickening". [online] NME. Available at: http://www.nme.com/news/music/enter-shikari-rou-reynolds-taylor-swift-fleece-tickets-2132474 [Accessed on 17 Oct. 2017].

Biography.com (2017). Taylor Swift. [online] Available at: https://www.biography.com/people/taylor-swift-369608 [Accessed on 17 Oct. 2017]

Bizub B. (2017). Taylor Swift Tickets Are For The Privileged. [online] The Odyssey Online. Available at: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/taylor-swift-tickets-are-for-the-privileged [Accessed on 17 Oct. 2017].

Hogan M. (2017). Why Ticket Scalping Won’t Go Away | Pitchfork. [online] Pitchfork.com. Available at: https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/why-ticket-scalping-wont-go-away/ [Accessed on 17 Oct. 2017].

Homonoff H. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardhomonoff/2017/09/01/taylor-swift-tix-the-start-or-just-continuation-of-a-marketing-trend/#7e483cab53b0 [Accessed on 17 Oct. 2017].

Taylor Swift. (2017). Taylor Swift Tix powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan. [online] Available at: https://tickets.taylorswift.com [Accessed on 17 Oct. 2017].