One morning in November 2022, K.J. Haakenson, then 22, logged in to Ticketmaster before work. A “huge Swiftie,” she was excited to buy tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which would kick off in winter 2023 and is still ongoing. But for Haakenson—and 14 million other fans—the ticket-buying process didn’t go as planned. She waited for what seemed like an eternity in the site’s virtual queue, growing increasingly anxious as time ticked by and she remained nowhere close to making a purchase.
Finally, after six hours, Haakenson’s turn came up, and she scrambled to find seats. When a technical glitch kicked her out and put her at the back of the queue again, she almost gave up, but ultimately decided to try once more—and managed to snag two tickets for $321. It had taken almost eight hours.
“By the end, I was emotionally exhausted from the roller coaster of waiting rooms and disappearing seats,” Haakenson, now 23, says.
In November 2022, K.J. Haakenson, then 22, logged in to Ticketmaster one morning before work She was excited to buy tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The tour was kicking off in winter 2023 and is still ongoing. But for Haakenson—and 14 million other fans—the ticket-buying process didn’t go as planned. She waited for hours in the site’s virtual queue. She grew increasingly anxious as time ticked by and she was not close to being able to buy tickets.
Finally, after six hours, it was Haakenson’s turn. She hurried to find seats. A technical glitch kicked her out and put her at the back of the queue again. She almost gave up, but decided to try one more time. She managed to get two tickets for $321. It had taken her almost eight hours.
“By the end, I was emotionally exhausted from the roller coaster of waiting rooms and disappearing seats,” Haakenson, now 23, says.