Police Scotland issue warning over ticket fraud
Police Scotland are warning the public to be alert to online ticket fraud following hundreds of reports over the past nine months.
Officers say there were 313 reported incidents of fraud across Scotland between January and September involving the online sale of tickets for major events – equating to 6% of all cyber fraud incidents – with 60% relating to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Edinburgh, alongside other concerts such as Oasis and TRNSMT, as well as sporting events.
The majority take place on social media and online marketplace platforms by individuals and groups looking to exploit members of the public for financial gain.
“We’ve noticed a trend in this type of crime reported around major events happening in Scotland,” says Insp Alasdair Penny of cybercrime harm prevention. “The figures represent a significant proportion of cybercrime, but we believe these types of incidents are underreported and the true figure will be much higher.
“Reports relating to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour have made up the majority and we’re aware there are a number of highly anticipated events next year, including the Oasis tour and TRNSMT.”
Swift performed three sold out nights at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium in June, while Oasis are set to follow suit next August.
“We have publicly raised the threat of cyber criminality and the increase in online offending and have put plans in place to address it,” says Penny. “The chief constable unveiled a new vision for Police Scotland, including a commitment to establish a new cyber command and increase our capabilities to tackle online fraud.
“Our message is: be vigilant. If a price or offer seems too good to be true, it probably is”
“We want to make sure the public is aware of potential fraudulent sales and provide advice around how to spot it. Our message is: be vigilant. If a price or offer seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
According to the figures, women between the ages of 18 and 24 are most at risk from this type of fraud. Police have issued advice on what to look out for when buying tickets.
“Before purchasing, carefully review the ticket details for authenticity,” adds Penny. “Check for accurate event information, including the date, time, and venue. Pay attention to the seating section or assigned seats, which can indicate fraudulent tickets.
“Buy from legitimate sources, check bank details provided and use secure payment methods. Credit cards and reputable online payment platforms offer additional protection against fraudulent transactions. Avoid paying with cash, wire transfers, or unsecured payment methods.
“Please report any fraudulent activity to police. We will fully investigate and we work alongside partners to raise awareness and tackle those involved in such offences.”
UK Swifties were estimated to have lost over £1 million (€1.2m) in a wave of online scams since tickets went on sale for the European leg of The Eras Tour in July 2023, according to previous analysis by Lloyds Bank.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Why is The Eras Tour such a cultural phenomenon?
Yet more records tumbled as Taylor Swift officially closed the book on the European leg of The Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium last night.
The singer welcomed surprise guests Florence Welch and Jack Antonoff to the stage for the finale of her five-night Wembley stint, which brought her total number of Eras gigs at the London venue to eight – more than any other city in the world.
Swift also played three shows at Wembley in June, and the completion of the run sees her crowned as the biggest-selling female artist to ever perform at England’s national stadium, in addition to setting a new bar for the longest residency of a solo artist at Wembley and equalling the overall record set by Take That’s 2011 Progress Live.
Produced by Taylor Swift Touring and promoted by AEG Presents and Messina Touring Group, Eras last year became the first tour in history to surpass $1 billion in revenue – a feat achieved before it had even left North America. Swift took in an estimated ticket gross of $1.04bn, with 4.35 million tickets sold from 60 shows. The 2023 run was calculated to have generated an additional $200 million in merchandise sales.
And despite playing for more than three hours on each date, the 34-year-old has still left fans wanting more, with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert movie earning $267.7m globally, according to Box Office Mojo, to become the highest-grossing concert/documentary film in box office history.
Her previous global outing, the Reputation Stadium Tour, was the second highest-grossing of 2018, behind Ed Sheeran’s ÷, after netting $345.1m from 2,89m ticket sales across 53 shows. In the intervening years, she has released five new studio albums, as well as four re-recorded LPs, while her planned 2020 Lover Fest tour, which was to have included multiple European festival headline slots, was cancelled due to the pandemic.
“She has become multi-generational, appealing to fans of hers from her earlier eras, to younger fans who have discovered her music in recent years”
So why exactly has Eras captured the zeitgeist to such an extraordinary extent? International Artist Group EVP and head of global music Jarred Arfa, who previously described the trek as “like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon”, suggests it is easy to overlook Swift’s longevity.
“Of course there are many reasons [for the success],” Arfa tells IQ. “But one that doesn’t get discussed often is despite the fact that she is only 34, she has now had hits for 18-plus years. She has become multi-generational, appealing to fans of hers from her earlier eras, to younger fans who have discovered her music in recent years.”
Marie Lindqvist, SVP operations at ASM Global Europe, credits Swift’s ability to foster a uniquely devoted fanbase.
“Taylor Swift has developed a community of fans that are kind, generous, inclusive and colourful,” she says. “I think that is what the world needs with so much polarisation, war and stress around.”
Referencing the American hitmaker’s three-night stand at the ASM-operated Friends Arena (now Strawberry Arena) in Sweden in May, Lindqvist adds: “Stockholm was a bubble of joy and positivity with Swifties from all over the world for a week. According to a recent study by the Stockholm School of Economics, the people of Stockholm were happier during that week and felt a sense of community. That is unique and resonates on a global scale.”
Theo Quiblier of CTS Eventim-backed TAKK, which worked on Swift’s Zurich double-header in June alongside AEG, Gadget abc Entertainment Group and Taylor Swift Touring, dubs the Swiftie movement a “cultural phenomenon”.
“The show itself is almost secondary,” he says. “All these young women coming together as one as a community is really bigger than everything else. One day everyone is talking about it and then you’re part of what is now a society.”
“The level of demand and hyperbole surrounding the Eras tour is completely detached from the rest of the live music market”
The tour format – a setlist of around 45 songs split into 10 acts representing each of Swift’s studio albums – is another clear USP.
“The scale and ambition of these shows feels quite unusual in this day and age – especially the intensity of the execution, the length of the performances and the global nature of the tour,” reflects David Martin, CEO of the UK’s Featured Artists Coalition. “Essentially, you’re talking about a genuine global superstar at the peak point of their career. We’ve seen similar cultural phenomenon before with the likes of Michael Jackson, Coldplay and Beyoncé.
“Taylor Swift is the most popular artist in the world right now, and the level of demand and hyperbole surrounding the Eras tour is completely detached from the rest of the live music market.”
Matt Kaplan, head of UK/EU at resale marketplace Tixel, notes the concerts’ cross-generational appeal.
“It’s really been a perfect storm,” he says. “The media headlines of her personal life aside which have fuelled the lore, we’ve seen a social currency in attending Eras shows that transcends generations — rare for any artist or even for a festival with dozens of artists.
“I think that Taylor’s secret is in having a very wide wingspan combined with nearly two decades of wild success – she’s spanned country and pop; young, raw songwriting to polished pop gold; her songs speak to today’s anguished teen just as much as they speak to the 20-something heartbreak of someone in their 40s; personas like ‘Swiftie Dad’ have been fuelled, creating a parent-child bonding moment.
“She’s wholesome, talent-filled and intelligently outspoken and the kind of character that parents want their daughters to look up to, which easily translates into funding an expensive ticket. And all the while, Taylor keeps herself relevant, visible, and above all else stays directly intertwined with her fanbase through surprise and delight moments and clues that fans delight in deciphering. There’s no wonder there’s university courses studying Taylor’s business and brand.”
Indeed, Swift’s cultural impact as led at least 30 education establishments to offer courses focused on the singer, while London’s V&A Museum recently hired four superfans as advisors about her fan culture.
The Eras Tour will now take a two-month break before restarting in the US at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on 18 October. As things stand, it is set to wrap up in Vancouver, Canada on 8 December.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour resumes in London
A week after cancelling three Austrian dates due to a terror threat, Taylor Swift returned to the stage for the first of her five nights at London’s Wembley Stadium.
The singer was joined by surprise guest Ed Sheeran during the acoustic section of her set to play their Everything Has Changed and End Game collaborations, as well as a rendition of Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud.
In a five-star review of last night’s (15 August) 45-song, three-hour-plus performance, the Telegraph says: “Midway through the set, proceedings were temporarily halted by an ovation so long and loud and heartfelt that Swift took out her ear monitor to experience it fully.
“She likened the audience’s appreciation to ‘a love system overload’. You could apply that to the whole show. It’s what the world needs right now.”
The Times awarded the concert four-stars, concluding: “The Eras tour is a well-oiled machine, delivering the greatest (or most successful) hits from each album in a set routine with no encores. This could make it seem impersonal… Yet the faces around me seemed enraptured.
“People are paying mega money for this (for two women I met it was £800) and you can’t say she doesn’t deliver as a performer, making her crowd deliriously happy and emotional.”
“To support with the safe entry and exit of everyone within the stadium, no one is allowed to stand outside any entrance or on the Olympic Steps at the front of the stadium”
The 92,000-cap shows will continue at the UK venue on 16-17 and 19-20 August to mark the European finale of The Eras Tour, which is set to conclude in North America this December. Swift played three nights at Wembley in June, bringing her total number of Eras Tour shows at the London stadium to eight – more than any other city in the world.
The run will see her crowned as the biggest-selling female artist to ever perform at the London venue, in addition to setting a new record for the longest residency of a solo artist at Wembley.
Last month, in a practice known as “Tay-gating“, an estimated 40,000 fans gathered on a hill outside the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany, to listen to Swift’s performance. In light of the Vienna arrests, Wembley Stadium posted a reminder to ticketless fans that they would be unable to stand outside the venue during the shows.
“To support with the safe entry and exit of everyone within the stadium, no one is allowed to stand outside any entrance or on the Olympic Steps at the front of the stadium,” said a statement. “Non ticket holders will be moved on.”
Upon the conclusion of the Wembley residency, the tour will take a two-month break before restarting in the US at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on 18 October.
Meanwhile, the UK government quoted Swift songs to announce it will launch a consultation in the autumn regarding new consumer protections on ticket resale.
With Taylor in town, there’s no better time to begin taking swift action on ticket touts pic.twitter.com/YVe8KanC4p
— Department for Business and Trade (@biztradegovuk) August 16, 2024
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
More details emerge of Eras show cancellations
More details have emerged of the suspected terror plot that led to the cancellation of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts in Austria.
Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium was due to host three 65,000-cap shows by the singer from 8-10 August, but co-promoter Barracuda Music announced last night (7 August) that the dates had been called off.
The development came after Austrian police arrested two teenagers, aged 17 and 19, on suspicion of planning attacks. A 15-year-old has also been detained.
Austria’s general director for public security Franz Ruf told a news conference, as per Reuters, that chemicals, machetes and technical devices had been found at the home of the 19-year-old main suspect, who made “an oath of allegiance” to Islamic State at the start of July.
The 19-year-old was allegedly planning to target the 20,000 fans who were expected to congregate outside the venue during the show.
“The Austrian authorities and the promoters took a very responsible decision on the basis of the evidence they had”
“He wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made,” said Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, the head of Austria’s directorate of state security and intelligence.
Security expert Reg Walker, director of Iridium Consultancy, which works with a number of UK venues and festivals, tells IQ the decision to cancel the shows was “very wise”.
“The Austrian authorities and the promoters took a very responsible decision on the basis of the evidence they had to hand and the fact that two people were arrested,” he says. “Fans’ safety must come first.”
It was initially announced the shows would go ahead with enhanced security measures in the wake of the arrests, and Walker explains the likely process that took place on whether or not to proceed.
“It would have been a safety advisory group meeting between all parties concerned,” he says. “I imagine that would have escalated quite quickly in view of the serious nature of the potential threat, what risk there was, and if it was possible to mitigate that risk.
“Everyone, very clearly, came to the conclusion that the risk was so high it wasn’t possible to mitigate it. It sounds like a very fast-moving investigation, and you can’t have shows going ahead that are being targeted whilst that investigation takes place.”
“People are staying outside the event after the show has begun, which is a new dimension”
Last month, an estimated 40,000 fans gathered on a hill outside the Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany, to listen to Swift’s performance. Walker says the scale of the US singer’s popularity presents additional safety considerations for event organisers.
“Taylor Swift is a force of nature, so whatever you will get at a gig by another internationally famous artist, you can times it by 10,” he notes. “You always get crowds outside the venues – queues, merchandise, fan zones, etc – so most of the big venues are used to factoring in people outside the venue into their planning.
“You need more specialist security in place. You need more behaviour detection officers, more counter terrorism police, more uniformed police, more security to manage those crowds, and you also have to extend your crowd management plan further outside the venue footprint than you usually would.”
Staff at Liverpool’s Anfield Stadium reportedly directed fans away from the ground to a nearby park after they turned up to try to listen to Swift’s shows at the venue in June, but Walker does not expect the trend to be formally banned despite the recent events.
“It’s become part of the culture and they’re not causing any disturbance or disruption, so I think it would be a very difficult move to disrupt, deter or ban that type of activity. And then there’s always the question, would it even be lawful to do so?” he says.
“We have some of the best counter terrorism police and security services in the world”
A similar planned attack on Austria’s annual LGBTQ+ Pride parade in Vienna was foiled in June last year. Coldplay are the next act due to play at Vienna, with the band’s four Music of the Spheres dates between 21-25 August still on at present. Swift’s upcoming five-night run at London’s Wembley Stadium, which is scheduled to begin next Thursday (15 August), is also unaffected.
“There is nothing to indicate that the matters being investigated by the Austrian authorities will have an impact on upcoming events here in London,” says a Metropolitan Police spokesperson. “The Met works closely with venue security teams and other partners to ensure there are appropriate security and policing plans in place. As always, we will continue to keep any new information under careful review.”
Walker also attempts to offer reassurance regarding the UK’s capability on safety matters.
“We have some of the best counter terrorism police and security services in the world, who’ve done phenomenal work on advising venues and event organisers over a period of years,” he says. “Those services are absolutely excellent… so I think we can draw some comfort from the processes in place.”
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Taylor Swift Vienna gigs pulled over terror threat
Taylor Swift’s three concerts in Austria have been cancelled due to a “planned terrorist attack”.
The Eras Tour was due to stop at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium from 8-10 August, but co-promoter Barracuda Music has announced the shows have now been called off.
The BBC reports that Austrian police arrested two people today (7 August) on suspicion of planning Islamist attacks on large events around Vienna, including the Eras concerts.
“With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” says a social media statement by CTS Eventim-backed Barracuda, which adds that all tickets will be refunded in the next 10 days.
Austrian police arrested two people on suspicion of planning attacks on large events around Vienna
A 19-year-old Austrian citizen was reportedly arrested on Wednesday morning in the town of Ternitz, with a second suspect arrested in Vienna this afternoon.
The general director for public security Franz Ruf said the 19-year-old is alleged to have made “an oath of allegiance” to Islamic State at the start of July.
“According to the current status of the investigation, the two suspects became radicalised via the internet,” said Ruf, who added that chemical substances had been found and were being analysed.
The concerts were due to be attended by around 65,000 fans, plus 22,000 people outside the venue. When news of the arrests first broke, it was initially announced the shows would go ahead with enhanced security measures.
London’s Wembley Stadium is scheduled to be the next stop on The Eras Tour, with Swift set to start a five-night run at the venue next Thursday (15 August).
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
The top 10 highest-grossing music concert films
Concert films are continuing to result in blockbuster business at the box office, with Usher the latest superstar artist destined for the big screen.
AMC Theatres Distribution, Trafalgar Releasing and Sony Music Vision announced this week that Usher: Rendezvous in Paris will arrive in 2,000 cinemas worldwide for a limited run from 12-15 September.
Usher: Rendezvous in Paris features footage filmed during the 45-year-old American’s eight-night residency at Paris’ La Seine Musicale in September/October 2023.
“He is the perfect artist to support our shared vision of creating global experiences around concert films for artists”
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Sony Music Vision and AMC Theatres Distribution to bring the energy of Usher to movie theatre audiences around the world,” says Trafalgar Releasing CEO Marc Allenby. “He is the perfect artist to support our shared vision of creating global experiences around concert films for artists that advance the evolution of the cinema into venues for all forms of entertainment.”
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour (2023) earned US$267.7 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo, to become the highest-grossing concert/documentary film in box office history. Upon the film’s release in October 2023, The Eras Tour made $92.8m in North America and $30.7m internationally for a cumulative total of $123.5m, making it the biggest opening weekend of all time for a concert film.
Swift opted for a non-traditional release of the presentation, filmed over three nights in August 2023 at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, that saw her work directly with AMC and avoid opting for distribution from a major studio.
Taylor Swift heads a top 5 also featuring Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, One Direction & Beyoncé
In terms of classic concert films (thus discounting the 2009 Michael Jackson’s This Is It documentary), Box Office Mojo data puts Eras at #1 in a top 5 also featuring Justin Bieber: Never Say Never ($99m) from 2011, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert ($70.7m) from 2008, One Direction: This Is Us ($68.2m) from 2013 and last year’s Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé ($44m).
The top 10 is completed by 1970’s Woodstock ($34.7m), Katy Perry: Part of Me ($32.7m) from 2012, BTS’ Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing ($32.6m) from 2023, 2013’s Metallica Through the Never ($31.9m) and 2009’s Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience ($30.4m).
Dutch violinist André Rieu has been a forerunner in the space, occupying 13 of the top 50 spots, while Coldplay made history in October 2022 with the first ever live worldwide cinema broadcast of a concert from Latin America.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Wembley Stadium prepped for historic summer season
Wembley Stadium programming manager Matt Owen has spoken to IQ ahead of the launch of one of the venue’s “biggest summer seasons ever” this weekend.
The 90,000-cap national stadium will host more than 1.2 million visitors over the next 10 weeks, beginning this Saturday (16 June) with Capital’s Summertime Ball. The annual pop curtain-raiser will feature acts such as David Guetta, Sabrina Carpenter, Raye, Becky Hill, Jak Jones, Sugababes, Perrie, Meghan Trainor and Aitch.
Much of the attention, however, will be focused on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour‘s eight-night run (21-23 June and 15-17 & 19-20 August), which will see her crowned as the biggest-selling female artist to ever perform at the London venue, in addition to setting a new record for the longest residency of a solo artist at Wembley.
“Hosting eight nights of the highest grossing music tour ever is huge,” says Owen. “We are very excited to be part of this piece of live music history. The eight performances are the most at any one venue throughout the entire tour. It is a huge privilege for Wembley Stadium to have that honour.
“The shows will no doubt go down in Wembley history, and we can’t wait to welcome all the fans to share in that moment. It promises to be one of the biggest summer seasons ever and we can’t wait to get started.”
In addition, the stadium’s summer calendar includes concerts by Green Day (29 June), AC/DC (3 & 7 July) and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band (25 & 27 July), as well as the return of All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) All In spectacular on 25 August.
“The demand for major, live shows is huge at present. All our summer shows sold out months ago and that is a great sign for the industry”
“The demand for major, live shows is huge at present,” Owen tells IQ. “All our summer shows sold out months ago and that is a great sign for the industry. People still want to come and see these huge shows. They are more than just a performance; they are experiences that last the whole day and create memories that will last a lifetime.”
Last year saw shows by artists including Harry Styles, Blur and The Weeknd, and Owen says live music is a “big priority” for the multi-purpose venue has hosted several major sporting events already this year, including the Carabao Cup Final, the men’s and women’s FA Cup Finals and the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final.
“Non-sport events make up a huge chunk of our calendar and we are very conscious of the history of live music at Wembley Stadium,” he says. “Today’s Wembley Stadium is all about providing different options for different audiences. Everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy that experience under the arch.
“We continually invest heavily in a variety of projects to enable us to deliver more concerts, and to make the fan, promoter and artist experience best-in-class. We have improved our audio systems, along with investments into our lighting and digital infrastructure.
“The goosebump feeling of an artist coming out on stage at Wembley and hearing that roar of the crowd is electric. Wembley is, and always has been, one of the most iconic multi-purpose venues in the world.”
Owen suggests the trend for booking stadium shows further in advance has largely continued, post-pandemic.
“Stadium shows at this level and scale are always going to need a long lead-time”
“We’re certainly seeing shows locked in 12-18 months beforehand, but at the same time we’re also seeing things come in on a shorter time frame,” he notes. “Stadium shows at this level and scale are always going to need a long lead-time. The sheer size of some of the tours we’re seeing now need to be planned much further in advance.”
And despite huge competition in the London stadium sector from rivals such as Emirates Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London Stadium and Twickenham, as well as outdoor sites such as Hyde Park, Owen is confident Wembley holds a few aces up its sleeve.
“I think Wembley retains an edge for two reasons,” he says. “One, the delivery team is one of the best in the business. All our promoter partners know that they’re putting concerts into a best-in-class venue, with a best-in-class delivery team who are so passionate about live music, where fans and artists alike are going to have an incredible time.
“Two, our mantra is ‘It Matters More at Wembley’. Artists and fans want to experience shows at one of the most historic and iconic multi-purpose venues in the world. When you come to Wembley, you’re aware of the history surrounding that stage, who has played here, how many millions of fans have gathered here to see their favourite artist hit that peak. It’s an intoxicating feeling, you’re part of history.”
He finishes: “Those two factors certainly help, but it it’s important we never sit still or rest on our laurels. As a team we are always striving to be best-in-class and continually review, analyse and improve our offering. We’re all aware of the expectations that are attached to Wembley, be it as an artist or a fan, and we take pride in continually innovating to make sure Wembley retains its edge.
“Last year we spent more than £5 million improving the stadium from a fan perspective, and we will continue to invest in new ideas to maintain industry leading facilities that attract world-class events.”
Wembley Stadium elevated Paul Smyth, previously head of event operations, to the role of general manager in late 2023. His promotion coincided with the departure of stadium director Liam Boylan, who has since been appointed CEO of Academy Music Group.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Swift’s Euro trek collects attendance records
The European leg of the Eras Tour is off to a record-breaking start, with Taylor Swift smashing attendance records in France and Sweden.
The 34-year-old kicked off the European jaunt on 9 May with four dates at La Défense Arena in Paris, France, which drew a total of 180,000 fans.
This turnout set a new record for the arena, which had increased its capacity from 40,000 to 45,000 per show.
The AEG Presents-promoted outing continued to Sweden, where the superstar rewrote the history books at Friends Arena in Stockholm.
On 17 May, the star set a new record for the highest number of tickets sold for an event at the arena, which was trumped the following night and the one after, resulting in a new attendance record for a single concert at Friends Arena with 60,243 people.
The 34-year-old kicked off the European jaunt on 9 May with four dates at La Défense Arena in Paris
Across the three Stockholm dates, which were promoted by MTG, AEG Presents and All Things Live Sweden, Swift drew 178,679 people and smashed the previous audience record for a single artist.
The record sees Swift unseat Bruce Springsteen who attracted 167,160 people to his three concerts at the arena in 2013.
Swift’s record-breaking streak in European venues is expected to continue, with AEG being granted permission to extend capacities on various venues.
Edinburgh’s Murrayfield has already announced that the Eras Tour concerts will be Scotland’s biggest-selling stadium shows after the city’s council agreed to increase Murrayfield’s capacity by 8.73% from 67,130 to 72,990.
The concerts will see Swift unseat previous record holder Harry Styles, who performed to more than 65,000 fans at the same venue in 2023. Prior to that, Styles’ band One Direction held the title for selling 64,000 tickets there in 2014.
The Eras Tour, the highest-grossing tour of all time, is set to continue tonight (24 May) at Estádio Da Luz in Portugal.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Eventim warning after hackers target Eras tickets
Eventim has temporarily postponed the resale for the German dates of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour after hackers attempted to steal digital tickets for the concerts.
Swift will visit Germany this summer for sold-out concerts at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins-Arena (17-19 July), Volksparkstadion in Hamburg (23-24 July) and Munich’s Olympic Stadium (27-28 July). Her European tour launches in France tomorrow (9 May) with the first of four shows at Paris La Défense Arena.
According to Heise, cyber criminals are believed to have gained access to user accounts by trying out usernames and passwords from data dumps on the darknet, known as “credential stuffing”, before offering the tickets for resale on Eventim’s FanSale platform.
Eventim, which contacted the police over the matter, says the number of unauthorised resales was in “the low double-digit range”, while the transactions identified as fraudulent have since reversed, and the buyers refunded.
“By using Eventim.Pass with exclusively digital tickets, on the one hand, the identified, abusive transactions were reversed,” a company spokesperson tells Watson. “On the other hand, the funds of the buyers of the stolen tickets were secured from being forwarded so that they can be refunded.”
Eventim says it has reset the “passwords of accounts that we classify as potentially at risk”
It has reset the “passwords of accounts that we classify as potentially at risk”, and is encouraging other users to follow suit.
“As email and password data was used that has very likely been in circulation for some time, we recommend that users first change their email password and then the password for their customer account,” advises the firm.
Elsewhere in Europe, it was reported last month that UK Swifties are estimated to have lost over £1 million (€1.2m) in a wave of online scams since tickets went on sale for the European leg of The Eras Tour last July, according to data from Lloyds Bank.
Meanwhile, a so-called Taylor Swift bill has been signed into law in Minnesota, US, to offer online ticket buyers more transparency and protection. AP reports the law, which will apply for concerts or other live events held in the state, will require sellers to disclose all fees upfront and ban resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket, among other measures.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
Swiss promoter hails Eras Tour’s ‘economic factor’
Swiss live music pioneer André Béchir has praised the economic impact of Taylor Swift’s forthcoming Zurich concerts, revealing that thousands of fans are travelling from outside Switzerland to attend the shows.
Swift will perform at the city’s Letzigrund Stadium on 9-10 July, promoted by AEG Presents, TAKK, Gadget abc Entertainment Group and Taylor Swift Touring, as part of the European leg of The Eras Tour.
“With an entourage of around 200 people, Taylor Swift is on the road with the largest tour group in the world,” Béchir tells Blick. “Around 100,000 fans will come to her two concerts. Well over 10,000 are traveling from abroad, as we can see from the ticket sales.”
Béchir leads CTS Eventim-backed TAKK ab Entertainment AG, which was established last year, alongside TAKK Productions founder Sebastien Vuignier and IQ New Bosses alumnus Théo Quiblier. Béchir’s abc Production was amalgamated with Gadget and Wepromote by CTS shortly before the pandemic hit.
“Taylor Swift’s importance for Zurich is totally underestimated,” adds Béchir. “After we announced it, hotel room prices were on average a hundred francs more expensive the next day.
“We are assuming that the fans will arrive early, which will be an unprecedented challenge for traffic and the corresponding security measures. The authorities involved and the stadium have been informed accordingly. It still doesn’t seem to be clear in the minds of those responsible here that Taylor Swift is not just a concert, but an economic factor.”
“Concerts of this magnitude are of great importance for local businesses and suppliers, the hotel industry and the catering industry”
“Concerts of this magnitude are of great importance for local businesses and suppliers, the hotel industry and the catering industry,” says the City of Zurich’s communications department. “Since the ‘Swifties’ are considered particularly committed, just a single photo of the superstar from Switzerland on social media can have a huge advertising effect.”
Swift’s 17-19 May concerts at Sweden’s Friends Arena (cap. 50,000) are also expected to be a “real hit” for Stockholm’s economy. According to calculations by the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) and Friends Arena, Swifties attending the concerts are expected to spend half a billion kroner (€43.6m).
According to the SCC, almost half of the 150,000 fans attending Swift’s Stockholm concerts will come from abroad, with people from 132 countries, including USA, Finland and Australia, set to flock to the shows in the Swedish capital.
Meanwhile, the opening leg of The Eras Tour, which ran to 50+ dates from March to August 2023, reputedly contributed $5.7 billion to the US economy. The Washington Post reported that her SoFi Stadium residency in Inglewood, California, brought an estimated $320 million alone to the Los Angeles economy.
Swift and other A-list stars have also been credited with helping to rejuvenate tourism in Singapore after the country secured a much-debated exclusivity deal with the star.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.