Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty
It’s true that hip hop is a youth culture, but that fact doesn’t phase legendary rapper Jay-Z one bit. In fact, his 4:44 tour, which just started on Oct. 27 of this year, is already set to be the biggest of his career.
According to Billboard, it only took a few days for ticket sales to surpass those of his entire 2013 Magna Carta tour, and Hov still has 30 more shows to go. Throw rocks at the throne if you want, but you will get hurt.
“This tour will be the biggest headlining tour of Jay’s career,” says Al-Joulani, VP of touring at Live Nation, adding that the Roc Nation boss is said to be grossing “seven figures per night.” His opening performance at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. earned nearly 49 percent more than his show at the same venue four years ago.
Wondering how all of this is possible? It’s pretty simple, actually. Aside from the fact that 4:44 is arguably one of the best albums of Hov’s career, coupled with fans’ endless obsession over his marriage to Queen Bey, Al-Joulani says all of this success comes from a mixture of high priced front row seats, VIP experiences, and platinum tickets alongside more affordable seats elsewhere in the arenas.
You see, by more aggressively pricing front row seats and including VIP experiences and platinum tickets, concert promoters are getting a bit more skilled at commanding high prices and record grosses from the best seats in the house. This development sucks for ticket resellers because Jay and Live Nation are capturing more revenue and creating very little room for brokers to mark up the cheaper seats, which forces them to actually take a loss by pricing tickets closer to actual market value or less.
Need to be in the building? Peep the tour dates below, and find your tickets here.
Oct. 27 – Anaheim, Calif. – Honda Center
Oct. 28 – Las Vegas, Nev. – T-Mobile Arena
Nov. 1 – Fresno, Calif. – Save Mart Center at Fresno State
Nov. 3 – Phoenix, Ariz. – Talking Stick Resort Arena
Nov. 5 – Denver, Colo. – Pepsi Center Arena
Nov. 7 – Dallas, Texas – American Airlines Center
Nov. 8 – Houston, Texas – Toyota Center
Nov. 9 – New Orleans, La. – Smoothie King Center
Nov. 11 – Orlando, Fla. – Amway Center
Nov. 12 – Miami, Fla. – American Airlines Arena
Nov. 14 – Atlanta, Ga. – Philips Arena
Nov. 15 – Nashville, Tenn. – Bridgestone Arena
Nov. 16 – Charlotte, N.C. – Spectrum Center
Nov. 18 – Detroit, Mich. – Little Caesars Arena
Nov. 19 – Cleveland, Ohio – Quicken Loans Arena
Nov. 21 – Montreal, Quebec – Bell Centre
Nov. 22 – Toronto, Ontario – Air Canada Centre
Nov. 25 – Boston, Mass. – TD Garden
Nov. 26 – Brooklyn, N.Y. – Barclays Center
Nov. 29 – Washington, D.C. – Verizon Center
Dec. 2 – Uniondale, N.Y. – Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Dec. 5 – Chicago, Ill. – United Center
Dec. 6 – Lincoln, Nebr. – Pinnacle Bank Arena
Dec. 9 – Edmonton, Alberta – Rogers Place
Dec. 11 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
Dec. 13 – Seattle, Wash. – KeyArena
Dec. 14 – Portland, Ore. – Moda Center
Dec.16 – Oakland, Calif. – Oracle Arena
Dec. 17 – Sacramento, Calif. – Golden 1 Center
Dec. 19 – San Diego, Calif. – Viejas Arena
Dec. 21 – Los Angeles, Calif. – The Forum