Beyoncé performing.
Larry Busaka | PW18 | Getty Images
Ticketmaster is gearing up for what is expected to be high demand for tickets for Beyoncé’s upcoming “Renaissance World Tour,” as the ticketing giant faces criticism wrong pre sale for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour last year.
Beyoncé announced Wednesday that her first solo world tour since 2016 will begin May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, and end Sept. 27 in New Orleans. The superstar will perform songs from her seventh studio album, “Renaissance,” which was released over the summer and is in the running for Album of the Year at Sunday’s Grammy Awards ceremony.
Ticketmaster said in a statement that “demand for this tour is expected to be high” and that it plans to again use its Verified Fan system to prioritize tickets for those who register with the platform. The company said the multistep verification process would “ensure more tickets are in the hands of concertgoers” and “help filter out buyers looking to resell tickets” and automated bots.
Tickets for the North American leg of the 41-date tour will go on sale starting February 6, according to Ticketmaster and parent company live nationAnd fans hoping to secure pre-sale tickets will have a better chance if they register with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan System.
Ticketmaster stated that registration does not guarantee tickets and that only verified fans who later receive a code through a lottery-style selection will have access to the sale on a first-come, first-served basis on the on-sale date. Will be Registration windows vary by city, and the company warns that “there will be more demand for tickets than available.”
In November, verified fans of Taylor Swift “Eras” Tour Presale There were long waits, confusion and technical difficulties. Within 48 hours of the pre-sale going live, ticketmaster canceled general public sale, citing “extraordinarily high demands on the ticketing system and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand”.
The company later said that the bots were at least partially responsible to interrupt.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on Thursday.
After November’s meltdown, Ticketmaster and Live Nation face renewed scrutiny about their 2010 mergerPoliticians and competitors say the ticketing site’s monopoly in the live music industry has resulted in exorbitant ticket fees and poor customer service.
senators hear testimony on January 25, when lawmakers on both sides of the aisle questioned Live Nation’s chief financial officer, Joe Berchtold, on the matter.
A group of Swift fans is suing Live Nation, accusing the company of “anti-competitive conduct.”