Ticketmaster braces for Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ tour amid fears of Taylor Swift-level demand

Ticketmaster is gearing up for what’s anticipated to be excessive demand for tickets to Beyoncé’s upcoming “Renaissance World Tour,” because the ticketing big continues to face criticism over the botched presale for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour final 12 months.

Beyoncé introduced Wednesday that her first solo world tour since 2016 will kick off Might 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, and conclude Sept. 27 in New Orleans. The celebrity will carry out songs from her seventh studio album, “Renaissance,” which launched over the summer time and is within the working for Album of the Yr at Sunday’s Grammy Awards ceremony.

Ticketmaster mentioned in an announcement that “demand for this tour is predicted to be excessive” and that it plans to make use of its Verified Fan system once more to prioritize tickets for individuals who register with the platform. The corporate mentioned the multistep verification course of will “guarantee extra tickets get into the fingers of concertgoers” and can “assist filter out patrons seeking to resell tickets” and automatic bots.

Ticketing for the North American leg of the 41-date tour begins Monday, in line with Ticketmaster and guardian firm Stay Nation. The corporate mentioned followers hoping to safe presale tickets could have a greater probability in the event that they register with Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan system.

Ticketmaster mentioned registering doesn’t assure tickets and solely verified followers who later obtain a code via lottery-style choice will then have entry to affix the sale on a first-come, first-served foundation on the sale date. Registration home windows differ by metropolis, and the corporate warns “there shall be extra demand than there are tickets out there.”

In November, verified followers for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour presale confronted lengthy wait instances, confusion and technical glitches. Inside 48 hours of the presale going reside, Ticketmaster canceled most people sale, citing “terribly excessive calls for on ticketing programs and inadequate remaining ticket stock to fulfill that demand.”

The corporate later mentioned bots had been at the least partially chargeable for the disruption.  

Ticketmaster and Stay Nation didn’t instantly reply to CNBC’s requests for remark Thursday.

Following the November meltdown, Ticketmaster and Stay Nation have confronted recent scrutiny over their 2010 merger, with politicians and rivals saying the ticketing web site’s monopoly within the reside music trade has resulted in exorbitant ticket charges and poor customer support.

Senators heard testimony on the matter Jan. 25, when lawmakers from each side of the aisle questioned Stay Nation’s chief monetary officer, Joe Berchtold.

A gaggle of Swift followers is suing Stay Nation, accusing the corporate of “anticompetitive conduct.”