If the popularity of “Look What You Made Me Do” is any indication, Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour is going to be one of the hottest tickets of 2018 – but if you want to improve your chances of going, you’re going to have to work for it.
Swift is teaming with Ticketmaster to use the service’s “Verified Fan” program to combat the bots that scalpers use to buy up available tickets and inflate prices. In order for fans to move to the front of the line, though, they’ll have to participate in “Boost” activities, like pre-ordering Swift’s new album reputation, buying merchandise, watching her video or promoting her empire on social media.
“Participating in boost activities will build your activity status and boost your opportunity to unlock ticket access,” the ticketing page’s FAQ reads. “Boost activities will come in all shapes and sizes. Watch the latest music video on the portal, purchase the album (for the greatest boost), post photos and engage on social media. Visit your Taylor Swift Tix portal for the newest boosts and activities you can do everyday.”
To advance their chances, fans must pre-order the album via iTunes, Target, WalMart, or—if you want the most boost points—Swift’s own site.
You can see how the system give the pop star a boost of her own: Fans can pre-order the album up to 13 times to earn additional points.
Other boost methods include watching the lyric version of the “Look What You Made Me Do” video (up to five times a day on the Taylor Swift Tix Portal) and buying select Taylor Swift merchandise, such as a $45 t-shirt or $60 snake ring.
Fans (not all of whom are crazy about her latest song) have a lot of time to earn boosts, whether through purchases or by posting pictures of custom Taylor Swift UPS trucks (yes, really) on Twitter. Registration for the Verified Fan program runs through Nov. 28.
While the program certainly seems to favor fans who are financially well-off, Ticketmaster and Swift say boosts aren’t essential to your chances of getting a ticket—though they certainly help.
“Activity boosts were designed as a fun way to participate and boost your opportunity to unlock ticket access,” the site says. “While boosts are optional, we hope you’ll play along with the Taylor community and to help you unlock the best opportunity to access tickets!”
Prices for the concert tickets themselves haven’t yet been announced, but Swift generally commands a premium.
Either way, there could be a lot of angry Swifties when tickets go on sale, likely in late November.
