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In November 2022, Ticketmaster was forced to听听the general sale for Taylor Swift鈥檚 North American Eras tour after unprecedented demand. More than 3.5 million fans had registered to try to get a presale code 鈥� a number far exceeding the number of available tickets for the 52 shows.

The story made international headlines and led to a听听into Ticketmaster鈥檚 processes.

Dates for the Australian leg of the Eras tour听听in June 2023. Swift will be performing four shows in Sydney and three in Melbourne. Fans from other cities 鈥� and New Zealand 鈥� will have to travel should they wish to see her perform locally for the first time in over five years.

Tickets for the original five performances went on sale this week, with less than 500,000 seats available. Two more shows were added. While this may seem like a lot, the disappointment seen in听听补苍诲听听is likely to also be seen here.

Taylor Swift fans are known for spending significant amounts of money on听,听听补苍诲听.

While being a fan is an听, there seems to be a particular connection between Taylor鈥檚 fandom and the听.

Swift shares a particularly intense connection with her fans.

Fans frequently engage in听听with their celebrity objects of fandom, where they feel as if they honestly 鈥渒now鈥� the celebrity.

These relationships are often portrayed as problematic in both听. However, the connections fans feel to their favourite celebrities can be a听.

Swift is unique among celebrities in that she actively courts these connections.

By handpicking fans for 鈥渟ecret sessions鈥� before album releases (often held in her own home) and hosting post-show meet and greets, over the past 16 years she has carefully built the illusion of these relationships as reciprocated friendship.

, she memorises facts about each fan in attendance, surprising them with comments about new haircuts, academic achievements and relationship milestones.

She also has a history of sending fans surprise gifts听, ranging from handwritten letters of support to gift boxes full of things she says 鈥渞emind her鈥� of the fan in question.

Based on the North American performances, it appears Swift is not conducting meet and greets during The Eras tour. But fans believe there is always the chance they will be noticed and chosen to meet her.

When Swift鈥檚 official social media team,听, engage with fans 鈥� by liking, replying to, or retweeting their messages 鈥� individuals often put the date and type of interaction in their bio to broadcast the attention they received to others within the fandom community.

The belief among fans (which has never been confirmed) is that being noticed on social media puts you a step closer to meeting Swift in person 鈥� something many of the participants in my research into her fandom described as the ultimate motivation behind their engagement.

To be noticed, however, fans must participate in particular, approved ways.

The Taylor Nation twitter account retweets and engages with fans who have shared screenshots of merchandise receipts (from increasingly frequent,听听), pictures of themselves with multiple copies of albums, or particularly over-the-top displays of emotion and creativity.

This sets a baseline of what it takes to get their 鈥� and Swift鈥檚 鈥� attention.

Fandom communities are听听as spaces of friendship and community.

More realistically, they are hierarchical structures in which fans have their status elevated by participating in certain ways.

For Swift fans, these hierarchies are heavily tied to practices of consumption, including the purchasing of concert tickets.

The most expensive package for the Australian tour dates听. For that price, fans will get an 鈥渦nforgettable A Reserve floor ticket鈥� and 鈥渆xclusive VIP merchandise鈥�.

If fans are just after a seat, A Reserve is listed at $379.90, dropping down to $79.90 for G Reserve.

Within the fandom, fans who travel to shows, attend multiple nights, or have seats near the stage are labelled 鈥渄edicated鈥� and 鈥渃ommitted鈥�. Those who miss out on tickets often express their frustration at missing out to others who they don鈥檛听.

North American fans have gone to听听to secure tour merchandise, even after they have secured tickets to the concerts. Fans have reportedly been听, spending听听补苍诲听听to get their hands on limited-edition items.

The higher the levels of sacrifice reported, the more someone can project to other members of the fandom just how big a fan they are. This can result in increased attention and a reputation as听.

In her song听, Swift sings 鈥渕y pennies made your crown鈥�. When tens of thousands of fans scream this back at her every night, they are reflecting the reality of Swift鈥檚 celebrity.

Swift鈥檚 business model is largely built on fan desire to meet her. How do you meet her? You prove you are the biggest fan 鈥� and you鈥檝e made the sacrifices (and spent the money) to show it.

This article was originally published on The Conversation as: . It was written by PhD student Georgia Carroll from Sociology in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.