Last year, a resale ticket to Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour cost an average of $2,183. That was part of a larger pattern: From 2019 to 2023, consumers faced a 95% spike in concert resale prices.
Some people found ways to benefit. One reseller I read about reported making a $20,000 profit. But fans like me had to deal with sticker shock after a Ticketmaster fiasco made purchasing face-value tickets nearly impossible.
While scanning resale sites for her New York shows in May 2023, I found an obstructed-view seat at the top of the stadium for about $1,000. It seemed like a bargain compared to another ticket closer to the stage, listed at more than $15,000.
Some of the resale prices on StubHub for the Eras Tour on May 26, 2023
For a brief, particularly delusional moment, I considered spending a thousand dollars. I had never considered spending so much on live music before, but the Eras Tour featured songs spanning her entire career. It promised to unlock too much nostalgia to pass up.
I had been listening to Taylor Swift since I was about 14 years old and leaned on her music as I grew up. Swift crystallized the sometimes heartbreaking and ecstatic moments of girlhood with catchy, relatable songs. At the age of 30, I wanted to relive the eras of my youth alongside tens of thousands of likeminded people.
Thankfully, I snapped out of it and stayed home. I was disappointed, and had to stop watching tour content online as it added salt to the wound, but I was glad I saved the money, and hopeful I would still somehow get another chance.
A few months later, Taylor Swift, now officially a billionaire, announced a European leg of her 2024 tour.
Paris 'Eras Tour' concert ticket: $400
After Ticketmaster failed me again, I turned to StubHub in July 2023 and found floor tickets to her Paris show for about $400 each. I bought two: One for me, and one for a friend and fellow co-conspirator who quickly reimbursed me.
I paid about $230 above face-value, which was still less than the unbelievable amount I would have had to pay in the States.
The concert became the centerpiece of a week-long vacation in Europe. I started the week in Barcelona and ended it in Paris. I spent about $620 on flights, split a hotel with my partner in Barcelona before he took off for Morocco, and saved money on a hotel in Paris by staying with a friend.
For months, I worried my resale tickets could be a scam, but I proceeded with booking flights and making travel plans. I figured if it didn't work out in the end, I would still get to see both Spain and France, and there's nothing bad about that.
'Finally, we got to be part of the cultural phenomenon'
I arrived in Paris the day before the show and found out another friend from New York was in town. She didn't have plans to go to the concert. We gathered over a spread of charcuterie and throwback Taylor Swift tunes — and by the end of the night she had purchased a resale floor ticket for the equivalent of $245.
In May, my two friends and I boarded the train to La Défense Arena in Paris. Many Americans, I learned, were making the same journey. We met a mother from New York who checked her daughter out from school the day before, surprising her with tickets and a flight across the Atlantic.
Tasia Jensen (center) at the Eras Tour on May 11, 2024.
In a crowd of glitter and friendship bracelets, we made our way to the entrance of the stadium. Our tickets were scanned and finally, we were in.
We spent the next several hours dancing, singing, and swaying with the crowd. We savored the show, indulging in music that transported us to a past decade.
My friend said we had reached "peak girlhood."
For less money than Taylor Swift tickets were re-selling for in the U.S., I was able to eat tapas in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter and dine on sugar-dusted crepes with a view of the Eiffel Tower. I spent quality time with people I love and wandered through beautiful cities.
I spent quality time with people I love and wandered through beautiful cities.
With their sequined dresses and shiny cowboy boots, the Taylor Swift fans that crashed into Paris that weekend were easy to spot. On the metro, in gardens and at bistros throughout the city, strangers gushed with excitement.
Finally, we got to be part of the cultural phenomenon — in Paris, of all places.
The day after I saw the show, I spotted two bejeweled tourists hopping into a taxi and guessed they too were heading to see the tour. I told them to have the best time. When they smiled back and thanked me, I detected an American accent. I hope they also saved some money last year and spent it on a European getaway instead.
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