Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” just took home the Grammys’ top prize, but fans in some markets aren’t yet pulling the trigger on buying her concert tickets.
The pop megastar’s upcoming “Cowboy Carter” tour seemed as sure a bet as is possible in live music, given her album of the year win that followed the sold-out Renaissance tour, which was in such high demand that American fans flew to Europe for a discount.
But as several outlets noticed, to judge by prices for available seats in prime cities like Los Angeles, the Beyhive seems slower to return to stadiums this time around.
Tickets for the opening of her five-night SoCal run, April 28 at SoFi Stadium, as of Wednesday morning are still widely available and selling for as little at $59 (and that’s all-in pricing including fees) on Ticketmaster’s Verified Resale program. Subsequent dates at SoFi are going for as low as $35.
Tickets are going for similar price points around the country and in other markets like the U.K. While Beyoncé’s album is rooted in country and her Texas music heritage, aside from a hometown Houston run, she’s avoiding country music strongholds like Nashville.
Live Nation has cited a 94% sellout rate, but the prevalence of available resale tickets at rock-bottom prices suggests that fans, at best, are having some buyer’s remorse.
While music fans are again battered by recession fears and ongoing inflation, and some festivals have seen softening demand, other marquee runs from Oasis and Olivia Rodrigo haven’t seen similar lags. It’s hard to know if soft demand is due to economic fears, an overbooked tour or something more ephemeral about “Cowboy Carter’s” impact outside of awards season.
But even a few months ago, it was unthinkable that an artist of Beyoncé’s caliber would have trouble moving tickets. Ring the alarm for an impending recession?
This story originally appeared on LA Times
