Taylor Swift ticket trouble 'could lead fans to take up politics'

Ticketmaster cancels general sales, sparking a firestorm of outrage from her loyal supporters

US singer Taylor Swift poses after winning six awards at the 50th Annual American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles this week. AFP

Swift won Artist of the Year, Favourite Music Video, Favourite Female Pop Artist, Favourite Pop Album, Favourite Female Country Artist, and Favourite Country Album. Reuters

Audience members cheer Swift to another AMA victory. Reuters

Swift waves after receiving the Artist of the Year award. Reuters

Swift told her fans that making music kept her happy. AP

Swift lashed out at Ticketmaster over the botched sale of her coming tour, saying it was "excruciating" to learn that thousands of her fans had struggled to buy tickets. AFP

Swift remained apolitical until recent years when she urged people to vote for Democratic candidates in her home state of Tennessee. Reuters

Not all of Swift's fans were pleased with her political involvement. Getty / AFP

Swift's record sales have not suffered despite her political views. Getty for MTV

Taylor Swift, in an embellished LBD, arrives at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, on November 18, 2007. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Sandy Spika, arrives at the Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. EPA

Taylor Swift, in a navy mini dress, arrives for the Grammy Awards nominations in Los Angeles, California, on December 3, 2008. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Kaufman Franco, arrives at the Brit Awards at Earl's Court on February 18, 2009 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in a chiffon-sleeved dress, attends the Echo Music Awards at the O2 Arena on February 21, 2009 in Berlin, Germany. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Rachel Gilbert, attends the Sydney premiere of '17 Again' on March 11, 2009 in Sydney, Australia. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Kaufman Franco, arrives at the Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California, on January 31, 2010. EPA

Taylor Swift, in a gold mini, holds her award for 'Album of the Year' at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 5, 2009. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Roberto Cavalli, attends the Roberto Cavalli show during Milan Fashion Week on September 27, 2010 in Milan, Italy. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Roberto Cavalli, attends the Roberto Cavalli party as part of Paris Fashion Week on September 29, 2010 in Paris, France. Getty

Taylor Swift, in a lace skater dress, attends BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards at Hammersmith Apollo, on November 14, 2010 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Collette Dinnigan, arrives at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, on November 21, 2010. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Elie Saab, arrives for the Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 3, 2011. EPA

Taylor Swift, in J Mendel, arrives at the Met Gala in New York on May 2, 2011. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Reem Acra, arrives for the American Music Awards held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on November 20, 2011. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Zuhair Murad, arrives for the Grammy Awards at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California, on February 12, 2012. EPA

Taylor Swift, in J Mendel, arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, USA, on September 6, 2012. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Elie Saab, attends the Elie Saab show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 3, 2012 in Paris, France. Getty

Taylor Swift, in a scarlet midi, at Westfield London on November 6, 2012 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in J Mendel, attends the MTV EMAs at Festhalle Frankfurt on November 11, 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Elie Saab, arrives at the Aria Awards at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on November 29, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. Getty

Taylor Swift, in a white mini, attends the 40 Principales Awards at Palacio de los Deportes on January 24, 2013 in Madrid, Spain. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Elie Saab, attends the NRJ Music Awards at Palais des Festivals on January 26, 2013 in Cannes, France. Getty

Taylor Swift, in J Mendel, arrives for the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, USA, on February 10, 2013. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Elie Saab, attends the Brit Awards at the 02 Arena on February 20, 2013 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in J Mendel, attends the Met Gala in New York on May 6, 2013. EPA

Taylor Swift, in a shirt and shorts, at the Capital Summertime Ball at Wembley Arena on June 9, 2013 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Herve Leger, arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York, on August 25, 2013. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Julien Macdonald, arrives for the American Music Awards held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on November 24, 2013. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Reem Acra, arrives at Centrepoint's Winter Whites Gala at Kensington Palace in London on November 26, 2013. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Carolina Herrera, arrives at the Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on January 12, 2014. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Gucci, arrives for the Grammy Awards held at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California, on January 26, 2014. EPA

Taylor Swift, in J Mendel, arrives for the Academy of Country Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 6, 2014. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Oscar de la Renta, arrives for the Met Gala in New York on May 5, 2014. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Novis, arrives for the Teen Choice Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, on August 10, 2014. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Sass & Bide, on September 4, 2014 in Hamburg, Germany. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Michael Kors, at the American Music Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on November 23, 2014. EPA

Taylor Swift, in J Mendel, attends the afterparty for the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show at Earls Court on December 2, 2014 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Sachin & Babi, attends the Jingle Bell Ball at 02 Arena on December 7, 2014 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Elie Saab, arrives for the Grammy Awards held at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California, on February 8, 2015. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Julien Macdonald, attends the Elle Style Awards on February 24, 2015 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Roberto Cavalli, attends the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena on February 25, 2015 in London, England. Getty

Taylor Swift, in Balmain, arrives for the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 17, 2015. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Ashish, arrives for the MTV Video Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on August 30, 2015. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Versace, arrives for the Grammy Awards ceremony at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California, on February 15, 2016. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Alexandre Vauthier, arrives for the Vanity Fair Oscars After-Party following the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood, California, on February 28, 2016. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Louis Vuitton, arrives at the Met Gala in New York on May 2, 2016. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Versace, arrives for the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 20, 2018. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Balmain, arrives for the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on October 9, 2018. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Rosa Bloom, at the iHeartRadio Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on March 14, 2019. EPA

Taylor Swift, wearing J Mendel, arrives for the Time 100 Gala at the Lincoln Centre in New York on April 23, 2019. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Raisa & Vanessa, arrives for the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 1, 2019

Taylor Swift, in Versace, arrives for the MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, on August 26, 2019. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Julien Macdonald, arrives at the American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on November 24, 2019. EPA

Taylor Swift, in Etro, arrives for the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California, on January 5, 2020. EPA

Taylor Swift, in checked Carmen, attends the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on January 23, 2020. AFP

Taylor Swift, in a floral Oscar de la Renta dress, attends the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards at Los Angeles Convention Centre on March 14, 2021. AFP

Taylor Swift, in a black Greta Constantine Hockney bodysuit, performs onstage during the 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on October 30, 2021. AFP

Taylor Swift, in a velvet Etro suit, attends the 'All Too Well' premiere in New York City on November 12, 2021. Getty

Some of Taylor Swift’s fans want you to know three things: They are not still 16; they have careers and resources; and right now, they are angry.

That is a powerful political motivator, researchers say.

Look at what Ticketmaster made them do.

It started on November 15, when millions crowded early online sales for Swift’s long-awaited Eras Tour, resulting in systems crashes, prolonged waits and frantic purchases.

By Thursday, Ticketmaster had cancelled the general sale, saying there were insufficient remaining tickets.

That sparked a firestorm of outrage from fans. Swift herself said the ordeal really made her mad.

Ticketmaster apologised but the bad blood had already been sowed. And now fans — and politicians — have started acting on it.

US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez directed "Swifties" to where they could make complaints to the US Department of Justice.

State attorneys general — including in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, key states in Swift’s origin story — have announced investigations.

Stephanie Aly, a New York professional who has worked on community organising for progressive politics, for years has thought mobilising fans for social progress could be beneficial.

“Fandoms are natural organisers,” said Ms Aly, 33, a Swiftie. “If you find the right issues and you activate them and engage them then you can effect real change.”

In 2020, for instance, K-pop fans organised to back the Black Lives Matter movement and sought to inflate registration for a Donald Trump rally.

Ms Aly and fans from different industries — law, public relations, cyber security and more — have joined forces to form Vigilante Legal.

The group is lobbying to create policy change around Ticketmaster and organise the Swifties, while creating email templates to petition attorneys general and providing antitrust information.

Thousands have expressed interest in helping or learning more.

“The level of anger that you’ve just seen in the country around this issue is astounding,” said Jean Sinzdak, associate director for the Centre for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

“People are really sharing their feelings about that and building a movement about that online.

"Whether it lasts is hard to say, but it certainly feels like a real opportunity.”

And a demographic that is seldom courted by politicians during election season is getting recognised.

“Nobody goes out and thinks, ‘Let’s target young women',” said Gwen Nisbett, a University of North Texas professor who researches the intersection of political engagement and pop culture.

“Be it about abortion or student loans, that age group is super mobilised and young women are super mobilised.”

Fan culture and community has boosted that tendency towards mobilisation.

Ms Nisbett was studying parasocial relationships, when fans have strong one-way relationships with celebrities, in 2018, when the previously apolitical Swift posted an endorsement of Democratic candidates to social media.

Ms Nisbett found that while such posts may not determine fans’ votes, they still led to the increased likelihood that fans would look for more information about voting, and actually vote.

AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the US electorate, showed about a third of Tennessee voters in 2018 said they had a favourable opinion of Swift, and among them, about 70 per cent backed Democrat Phil Bredesen in the Senate contest.

That was in clear contrast to about a third of voters who had an unfavourable opinion of Swift and overwhelmingly backed Republican Marsha Blackburn.

This is not the first time a fandom or an artist has attacked Ticketmaster. Pearl Jam took aim at the company in 1994, although the Justice Department ultimately declined to bring a case.

“It’s not just about getting vengeance for Swifties. It’s not about getting an extra million Taylor Swift fans tickets, or all of us going to a secret session,” said Jordan Burger who is using his law background to help the cause.

“It’s about fundamental equality. And when you have a monopolist like that, it’s just so representative of the class structure of a society where there isn’t equality any more, there isn’t fairness.”