We previously reported on allegations that Jay-Z’s 4:44 Tour was suffering from lackluster tickets sales after the emergence of dirt cheap tickets on resale sites like StubHub. While it seemed that, according to seat maps, the tour wasn’t exactly failing with most stadiums and arenas being nearly filled, the low ticket prices on official sites like Ticketmaster did cause some confusion on what exactly was going on.
Now, Live Nation has revealed that despite the low prices previously described, the 4:44 Tour is well on its way to being Jay-Z’s highest grossing solo tour ever. "This tour will be the biggest headlining tour of Jay’s career,” Omar Al-Joulani, VP of touring at Live Nation, tells Billboard.
According to the site, what these low prices indicate is that scalpers are actually failing to compete with the standard ticket sales, having to price resales so low—a signal that demand is up no matter what. Compared to 2013’s Magna Carta Tour, sales are up by 21 percent, earning nearly 49% more at the first show in Anaheim, California at the Honda Center than it did at the same venue in 2013.
“This might be the future of ticketing,” Patrick Ryan of ticketing and inventory company Eventellect went on to add. “We are seeing many creative pricing strategies and we are seeing artists find what works for them. You generate a ton of revenue up front, but you still have a $25 price point that makes it more affordable for individuals who want to see an arena show.”
Hov's tour currently has 27 more stops left on the itinerary with his next show being Sunday night [November 5th] in Denver’s Pepsi Center, with the full run set to wrap up on December 21 at The Forum in Inglewood.
Jay-Z 4:44 Tour Dates:
November 5, 2017 Denver: Pepsi Center
November 7, 2017 Dallas: American Airlines Center
November 8, 2017 Houston: Toyota Center
November 9, 2017 New Orleans: Smoothie King Center
November 11, 2017 Orlando: Amway Center
November 12, 2017 Miami: American Airlines Arena
November 14, 2017 Atlanta: Philips Arena
November 15, 2017 Nashville: Bridgestone Arena
November 16, 2017 Charlotte: Spectrum Center
November 18, 2017 Detroit: Little Caesars Arena
November 19, 2017 Cleveland: Quicken Loans Arena
November 21, 2017 Montreal: Canada Bell Centre
November 22, 2017 Toronto: Air Canada Centre
November 23, 2017 Toronto: Air Canada Centre
November 25, 2017 Boston: United States TD Garden
November 26, 2017 Brooklyn: Barclays Center
November 27, 2017 Brooklyn: Barclays Center
November 29, 2017 Washington, D.C.: Capital One Arena
December 1, 2017 Philadelphia: Wells Fargo Center
December 2, 2017 Uniondale: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
December 5, 2017 Chicago: United Center
December 6, 2017 Lincoln: Pinnacle Bank Arena
December 9, 2017 Edmonton: Canada Rogers Place
December 11, 2017 Vancouver: Rogers Arena
December 13, 2017 Seattle: United States Key Arena
December 14, 2017 Portland: Moda Center
December 16, 2017 Oakland: Oracle Arena
December 17, 2017 Sacramento: Golden 1 Center
December 19, 2017 San Diego: Viejas Arena
December 21, 2017 Inglewood: The Forum