THE feeding frenzy for Taylor Swift concert tickets on Wednesday (Jul 5) is likely to have included some particularly vicious sharks: scalpers angling for a quick profit.

Presale tickets for UOB cardholders sold out within three hours, with more than a million queue numbers issued. When general sales open on July 7 for the popstar’s six concert nights, an even greater rush can be expected.

While fans might snag a spare ticket or two, the real threat is arguably from organised outfits which use automated bots to increase their chances and buy more than their entitlement.

Would-be concertgoers who are crowded out then face the choice of either missing out altogether, or paying a premium for the experience – thus, ironically, supporting the scalpers.

Scalpers are not merely a problem for concertgoers. If the practice is widespread enough, it could weaken a major economic motive for Singapore’s concert drive: tourism.

Even before Wednesday’s presale for Swift’s concerts in Singapore, prices of hotel stays and regional air tickets around her March 2024 dates had already seen an uptick.

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If scalping activity hampers demand from overseas fans, that dampens the potential boost from their spending. In the longer term, it could even tarnish Singapore’s attempt to establish itself as a hub for live entertainment.

The loss of such foreign spending should not be dismissed, given that the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has poured funds into wooing major acts – and should ideally achieve some economic return from this investment.

Granted, fierce competition for tickets has already sparked protectionist calls. After last month’s rush for tickets to Coldplay’s January concerts, and in the lead up to Swift’s sales, some have suggested that Singapore residents should get priority for major gigs.

Such cries, however, neglect the hard economic logic by which the entertainment industry operates.

When major artistes go on tour, they expect each concert stop to draw audiences from surrounding areas as well. On its own, Singapore’s small resident population is hardly enticing.

One rejoinder might be that foreign fans can still attend even if locals get first dibs. Yet the economic benefits are greater if more fans fly in. This is especially for multiple concert nights: the value brought by three separate overseas fans is far greater than one local Swiftie attending for three straight nights.

Local fans should consider that without the prospect of attracting overseas attendees, the STB is unlikely to have put in such effort to secure megastars such as Swift. The fact that Singapore is the only South-east Asia stop on her upcoming tour is not insignificant.

Far from being rivals, fans from abroad are helping to establish Singapore as a major concert tour stop.

Rather than bemoaning the enthusiasm of their peers from abroad, local fans should recognise that the more damaging form of competition comes from scalpers. In an ideal world, fans themselves would wield their power to defeat scalpers – by simply not buying from them.

Of course, this collective action problem is bound to end in failure. In the absence of such solidarity, ticketing companies can and should do more to reduce the ease and success rate of scalpers.

And while the Singapore government indicated in 2019 that it had no plans for anti-scalping legislation, it might be timely to consider what can be done – especially if the Republic intends to continue building its reputation as a concert host.