Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour sees falling ticket prices and fan confusion

Tickets to Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” tour are selling for as low as $71. Some fans are thrilled, while others are frustrated and confused. Despite high presale demand, tickets for Beyoncé’s upcoming stadium tour remain available just days before the first show. 

Fans are reporting steep drops in resale prices, unexpected seat upgrades, and ongoing issues with Ticketmaster’s pricing model.

Prices drop while seats stay open

Influencer Imani Blackmon shared her experience on TikTok, saying she paid $900 for a level 200 seat at SoFi Stadium on opening night.

A search of Ticketmaster listings as of Thursday shows seats in that same level now range from $166 to $250. 

Additionally, some upper-level seats are listed for as low as $71, which is cheaper than many venue parking options.

StubHub spokesperson Adam Budelli explained to Straight Arrow News in February that buyers may want to avoid rushing into purchases right after tickets go on sale.

“When a tour is announced, you have those public sales,” Budelli said. “We usually tend to say — let some of that excitement go away from the market. The best time to buy is actually not necessarily in those first 72 hours or even the first week after the event goes on sale.”

How resale works – and what fans should know

Budelli represents StubHub, a verified reseller for the “Cowboy Carter” tour. He clarified that individuals list their own tickets on StubHub while the platform handles payment and delivery.

StubHub verifies all tickets, and sellers do not receive payment until after the event – a safeguard designed to reduce scams.

According to the company, the average resale price for “Cowboy Carter” tickets as of February was $295. That’s lower than the average ticket price during Beyoncé’s 2023 “Renaissance” tour, which was $322.

That tour was one of the highest-grossing in music history, selling over 2.7 million tickets.

However, some blame resellers for the current culture of inflated prices. As of this week, StubHub listings for opening night still range from $45 to as high as $6,200.

Fans react to the shift

One TikTok user who prefers to go by her first name, Mia, told Straight Arrow News she has seen more than 400 artists live since 2007, and she expressed her shock at the low prices.

She refuses to spend more than $200 on a ticket and says she avoids buying from Ticketmaster because it uses dynamic pricing, a model that raises prices in real time based on demand.

“I get that artists have to pay other people to support them on tour, and they get most of their money on tour,” she said. “But the ticket industry right now is extremely predatory. The bot companies are out of control. And I refuse to be taken advantage of.”

Reports of seat upgrades and fan speculation

Meanwhile, some fans say they received emails from Ticketmaster stating their seats were moved due to updated stage production that could cause obstructed views. In some cases, fans were reassigned to floor seats.

One version of the email said, “The event organizer has accommodated you with new seats in a comparable location on the floor.”

However, some speculate the reassignments are due to low ticket sales and efforts to make the stadium appear full. One user even said their floor seat was actually moved to a less desirable section.

Straight Arrow News reached out to Ticketmaster to verify the authenticity of the seat change emails. No response was received at the time of publication.

A strong start, but inventory remains

The “Cowboy Carter” tour officially begins Monday, April 28, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. After announcing the tour in February, Beyoncé added 10 additional stadium dates due to high presale demand, bringing the total to 32 shows.

Yet, as of Thursday, tickets remain available for every date on the tour.

A recent report from The Independent said Ticketmaster still listed 3,200 unsold seats for SoFi’s opening night as of April 17. SoFi Stadium can hold up to 100,000 people, but Beyoncé’s stage design blocks off a portion of those seats.

Live Nation, the tour’s promoter, said in March that 94% of the total ticket inventory for the “Cowboy Carter” tour has already sold.