Beyonce tickets demand far outnumbers supply, leaving fans nervous after last Ticketmaster debacle

CHICAGO (WLS) — Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour ticket presales started Monday. She’s making two stops at Soldier Field on July 22 and 23, and her fans want nothing more than to see Queen Bey.

But the memory of Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift meltdown is still fresh and fans are nervous.

Susan McCallum wants to go to the concert with her 16-year-old daughter Nyah, who’s a drummer and a big fan of Beyonce. But she said the effort to get the tickets may just break her soul.

McCallum is already registered as a verified fan, but that doesn’t guarantee tickets. In fact, Ticketmaster said the demand for Beyonce tickets far outnumbers the supply, in some cases by 800%, so many people are on the waitlist.

“We’re not going to be able to find ticket to go to her concert. Either that, or they’re outrageously priced beyond what my budget can handle,” McCallum worried.

Ticketmaster’s site crashed during a November presale event for Taylor Swift tickets after the company said it was overwhelmed by fans and bot attacks.

The meltdown prompted a Senate judiciary hearing in January, analyzing competition issues in the live music business.

Concert promoter Jerry Mickelson of Chicago-based Jam Productions was called a witness. He said scalpers are advertising tickets for sale before shows go on sale, driving up prices and putting fans at a disadvantage.

“Speculative ticketing is unscrupulous and shouldn’t be allowed but it’s been going on a long time with high demand shows,” he said.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee sent a warning to Ticketmaster before Beyonce sales started tweeting a message from its official account saying, “We’re watching.”