Ticketmaster is selling Beyonce tour tickets after Taylor Swift fiasco and fans are obviously worried
Beyonce's last solo tour was "The Formation World Tour," in 2016. Photo: DailyO
When Beyonce announced her Renaissance tour this year, it broke their fans' hearts; not because Beyonce is returning to the stage after seven years, but because Ticketmaster was handling her tour. Yes, the same company which was handling Taylor Swift's Era tour and messed up big time.
Beyonce announced her tour on Wednesday; that her Grammy-nominated album Renaissance will start in Stockholm and finish in New Orleans, during the months of May to September.
Fans were waiting for the tour announcement since last July when Beyoncé dropped her album. Previously, her last solo tour was The Formation World Tour in 2016, though she performed with her husband Jay-Z on his On the Run Tour II in 2018.
The first round of ticket sales will open on Monday, February 6, through Ticketmaster, which is already facing heightened scrutiny for its botched Taylor Swift presale in November, for which they blamed bots and unpredictably high traffic.
We’re watching, @Ticketmaster. https://t.co/LuWjoXrWX4
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) February 2, 2023
Frustrating times for being a Swiftie and a fan of Beyoncé.
Has Ticketmaster learnt its lesson?
Ticketmaster says they have learnt from the Taylor Swift fiasco, and that they will be a little extra cautious this time around.
- It said registering does not guarantee tickets and only verified fans who later receive a code through lottery-style selection will then have access to join the sale on a first-come, first-serve basis on the sale date. Registration windows vary city by city.
- The company also said there will be a multi-step verification process that will "ensure more tickets get into the hands of concertgoers" and will "help filter out buyers looking to resell tickets" and automated bots.
Flashback, to November 2022
The American ticket sales and distribution company (the Indian equivalent of BookMyShow) cancelled all planned ticket sales to the general public for Taylor Swift's American tour in 2023 as 3.5 billion ticket requests from fans, bots and scalpers overwhelmed the website with record demand. Later, Taylor Swift fans dragged Live Nation (the parent company of Ticketmaster) to court, demanding compensation.
— Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) November 15, 2022
Due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand, tomorrow's public on-sale for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour has been cancelled.
— Ticketmaster (@Ticketmaster) November 17, 2022
What's latest with Taylor Swift fans vs Live Nation?
Beyoncé's tour management has been given to Ticketmaster right after the company went on trial and faced heavy criticism from senators in the US.
The New York Times reported that during the hearing in January at a Senate Judiciary Committee, legislators and competitors grilled Live Nation vehemently over whether its 2010 merger with Ticketmaster, which created a colossus without peer in the multibillion-dollar live music industry, had harmed consumers and hampered competition.
Ticketmaster's response: Ticketmaster apologised for the problems with Taylor Swift tickets, but largely blamed bots and other external pressures for its problems.
BUT
It is still unclear what will happen with Ticketmaster in terms of penalty or whether fans will receive compensation.