Beyoncé kicked off her new Cowboy Carter tour with a disappointing debut in Los Angeles on Monday night. Just hours before the opening performance, more than 3,000 seats in the stadium remained empty, with ticket prices plummeting to just $20.
The superstar announced her new tour in February, scheduling performances across several cities in the United States and Europe, including New York, Chicago, Paris, London, Atlanta, and others.
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Months ago, ticket prices soared as high as $800 for a single admission, but hours before the show began, thousands of seats remained vacant – causing prices to crash to a mere $20 per ticket.
Various websites have already labeled the tour a failure, relatively speaking for a singer who typically sells tickets with ease. Beyoncé herself posted a teaser to her Instagram account just hours before the show began, in what appeared to be a last-minute attempt to fill the empty seats.
Fans who purchased tickets at full price expressed outrage over the last-minute discount and directed their frustration at Ticketmaster, which had charged up to $1,200 per ticket during early sales. Their tickets were sold on Monday night for just a quarter of the original price – approximately $300. Additionally, fans complained they had purchased expensive tickets because they were led to believe tickets were selling out quickly.
According to Ticketmaster policy, tickets can only be exchanged for those of equal or greater value than those originally purchased. One frustrated fan wrote on his X account about the absurd situation, "I am so upset at @Ticketmaster's policies. Paid $281 for a 300-section @Beyonce ticket, and wanted to upgrade to 100-section. They cannot do it because the ticket is $20 CHEAPER than what I paid. I said I would forfeit the difference and they refused. Something has to be done!"
In clips shared on social media, Beyoncé brought her daughters Rumi and Blue Ivy on stage during the performance, with Blue Ivy essentially becoming one of her dancers. Will this strategy help boost ticket sales for upcoming shows?
