From the set design to the energy of those on stage, there’s nothing quite like the immersive experience of watching your favorite artist put on a show. Until now, that is. Beyoncé is charging fans to listen to, but not watch, her Renaissance world tour.
Leveraging the popularity of her Renaissance tour, the “Crazy in Love” pop star is now selling “listening only” tickets.
For $157, fans can purchase a seat behind the stage with no view of the star’s show—which is known for its extravagant props, costumes, and dance moves.
Since May, the former Destiny’s Child icon has been working her way across the globe on her 56-date Renaissance world tour to promote her seventh studio album. But it wasn’t until now, on the U.S. leg of the tour at the star’s New Jersey show, that fans were given the option to buy the limited-view tickets which are usually available to the blind or visually impaired at a reduced price.
Taken aback by the steep price of the tickets, which offer little more than the experience of listening to the artist at home, fans are criticizing the star for being “detached” from reality.
“@Beyonce is in concert 20 min away at @MetLifeStadium. It’s my birthday weekend. Lowest priced tickets are ~$350 pp for no view, listening-only seats,” one fan wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “I would love to see her in concert but no way I can afford to shell out $700 and not even see [her].”
Beyoncé selling $200 tickets for a LISTENING ONLY experience is hysterical. This lady is detached from reality 🤣
— Ry (@RyanKingss) August 1, 2023
“Beyoncé selling $200 tickets for a LISTENING ONLY experience is hysterical. This lady is detached from reality,” wrote another.
“The whole point of going to the concert is seeing her in person and watching the spectacle of the production,” one annoyed fan told the Sun. “It’s ridiculous,” they said. “If I only wanted to hear the concert, I’d stand outside in the car park.”
Listening-only tickets are a fraction of the price of regular ones
The availability of more affordable listening-only tickets for Beyoncé’s first solo tour in seven years comes months after fans in the U.S. complained that it is cheaper to buy a plane ticket and see the Renaissance tour in Europe than in their hometown.
Mercedes Arielle saved money by buying tickets for the show in Stockholm, rather than in Dallas. She told NBC News that she paid $366 for VIP concert tickets and her hotel was “essentially free” because of points and miles. Meanwhile, her friends in Dallas forked out a staggering $900 each for tickets alone.
Less than a day after posting about it on Instagram, the video had upwards of 100,000 views and her DMs swelled with hundreds of thank-yous. “Apparently a whole bunch of Black girls are going to be in Sweden,” she told the Washington Post.
But the surge of fans flocking to the Swedish capital to see Beyoncé put a strain on the economy and experts have since blamed the artist for keeping inflation stubbornly high.
Ticketmaster and Beyoncé representatives Parkwood Entertainment didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
