Will Ticketmaster be able to handle Beyoncé on tour?

New York
CNN
—

Good news: Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour is happening. Bad news: Fans are already bracing for a tough time getting tickets, especially after Ticketmaster’s botched rollout for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

Beyoncé announced the previously rumored tour on Wednesday. In an Instagram post, the superstar simply posted “RENAISSANCEㅤㅤWORLD TOUR 2023”. His website lists tour dates from May to September. Beyoncé will perform in cities around the world, making several stops in the United States. The site suggests that tickets will go on sale soon.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting news of the tour, but many are already preparing for a Ticketmaster disaster, following the recent Swift ticket debacle.

“Hey @Ticketmaster, you better have your servers ready!!!” one person tweeted. “Don’t waste it,” said another. On the Ticketmaster site, a search for Beyoncé tickets led to a page stating that there are no upcoming events. Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would sell tickets or if it could handle the demand.

The Swift concert drama began before tickets even officially went on sale. In mid-November, Ticketmaster’s site became overloaded when fans attempted to purchase pre-sale tickets for only a few dates. Demand was so high that Ticketmaster eventually canceled public ticket sales. Swift was furious, calling the debacle “excruciating to me.”

Ticketmaster had to deal with more than the wrath of Swift and her fans. The fiasco sparked a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, designed to examine the lack of competition in the ticketing industry (and give senators a chance to quote the lyrics to their favorite T-Swift songs.) he hearing gave committee members and others a chance to call out Ticketmaster’s power within the industry.

More than a decade ago, the company merged with Live Nation, despite fears the conglomerate would create a monopoly in the ticketing business. In 2010, a court filing that raised objections to the merger said Ticketmaster owned more than 80% of the shares among the major sites. Ticketmaster disputes that market share estimate and says it has at most just over 30% of the concert market, according to chief financial officer Joe Berchtold, who spoke about the company on NPR.

Today, he is widely criticized for having too much power in the industry, preventing fans and artists from buying or selling tickets through a competitor.

Renaissance, released this summer, was widely acclaimed and was nominated for album of the year at the Grammys.