Despite what you may have heard from people who don't understand how ticket sales actually work, Jay Z's 4:44 Tour is going swimmingly. In fact, according toBillboard, the tour is currently on track to go down as Jay's highest-grossing solo run ever.
Omar Al-Joulani, Live Nation's VP of touring, called the 4:44-promoting trek the "biggest headlining tour of Jay's career" over the weekend and revealed that he's already sold more tickets than the entire Magna Carta Tour. Thus far, average per-show gross is up 21 percent from Jay's 2013 solo tour. Jay and Live Nation's ticketing approach, which sees scalpers getting hilariously fucked, is key to the tour's success.
Jay and Live Nation—who earlier this year entered a 10-year touring deal together—have priced tickets closer to market value, giving scalpers fewer opportunities to score big by jacking up the price to resale sites. This approach benefits both the artist and the fan, as Jay is projected to bag a seven-figure gross on each night of the 4:44 Tour while also giving budget-conscious fans multiple opportunities to catch the show.
Jay's Oct. 28 stop in Las Vegas broke a city record by selling 1,480 tickets within 24 hours of Jay hitting the stage. Notably, those tickets were sold with zero markdown.
The 4:44 Tour, also featuring Roc Nation's own Vic Mensa, is just getting started. Jay next takes his 360-degree stage to Dallas, Texas Nov. 7. The current routing keeps Jay and Vic on the road through Dec. 21, where this leg of the 4:44 Tour wraps up at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Don't be an idiot. Get some tickets.
