Scott Duke Kominers, Columnist

Fans Watch Taylor Swift. Economists Watch the Fans.

The star will sell tickets first to fans who "boost" her work online. It's an auction, but the currency is not money.

August 29, 2017 at 3:20 PM UTC

Scott Duke Kominers is the MBA Class of 1960 Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a faculty affiliate of the Harvard University department of economics.

Whatever the fans think, the results will be interesting.
Photographer: Steve Exum/Getty Images for TAS

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Taylor Swift made sparks fly last week when she announced a new approach to selling concert tickets. Instead of “first come, first served” -- which invites predation by bots -- Swift’s upcoming tour will sell tickets first to the people who engage the most with Swift’s website.

Swift is using Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program. Users register and then undertake “boost activities” like buying Swift’s new album, sharing links on social media and watching videos. When tickets go on sale, they’ll be offered to fans in order, according to who did the most “boosting.”