The presale for Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter and the Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour” kicked off on a Tuesday (February 11), prompting the BeyHive to face the anticipated challenges of excessively long wait times, unusually high service charges and frequent Ticketmaster outages.

“One user urged others to take collective action, comparing it to the fervor of the Swifties, and suggested that a lawsuit against Ticketmaster is the next logical step because the situation is utterly unbelievable.” For devoted fans of the “CUFF IT” artist, the process has degenerated to the point where merely navigating the queue seems almost as fortunate as winning the lottery. Someone complained about the relentless CAPTCHA tests designed to prevent bots: “Me: Figuring out their silly puzzle. Ticketmaster: Tickets no longer available.”

The ticketing issues experienced by the BeyHive are not unique to Beyoncé, nor are they exclusive to pop and country artists. J. Cole’s one-night-only concert at Madison Square Garden was accompanied by a presale queue of 150,000 people, exceeding the venue’s capacity of 19,500. Fans of Kendrick Lamar and SZA encountered the same issue when tickets for the “Grand National Tour” became available in December 2024. Given the significant market control exercised by Live Nation and Ticketmaster, it appears that limited options are available to address the issue.

Me: Adding a ticket to the cart
Ticketmaster: Are you a robot ?
Me: Doing their dumb puzzle
Ticketmaster: Tickets no longer available
GTFO ! ! !

— 𐚁 🧚🏻‍♀️🇹🇳 (@kakihuete) February 11, 2025

Me thinking I’d have a pleasant and easy time in the presale queue: ☺️

Ticketmaster: pic.twitter.com/S7KFysbgc9

— L. (@lameeday) February 11, 2025

Ticketmaster crashing? Why the fuck do artists still use them? They are beyond useless pic.twitter.com/4TAJBkT8zJ

— big back activities (@Ashh_tonB) February 11, 2025

It appears that Ticketmaster is not entirely at fault for the high demand this time around. Ultimately, Bey’s COWBOY CARTER tour will visit only eight cities, a significantly lower number than the 56 shows included in her “RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR”, which was staged across multiple locations.

Beyoncé and Live Nation appeared to address the intense demand by making an announcement on Monday, February 10. Further dates were added, encompassing a third performance at Chicago’s Soldier Field on May 18, as well as fifth and sixth concerts at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 14 and 16, along with additional shows at Paris’ Stade de France and Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Ticketmaster everyday I’m praying for your downfall. How the FUCK can you have a monopoly on tickets and fail to have a platform that works in selling said tickets

— adna 🎨🍌💐✨💕 (@adnamode) February 11, 2025

It should be a crime to make getting concert tickets this difficult & expensive https://t.co/5TqzK1waHC

— THE SOCIAL BIBLE 📖 (@alexactivated) February 11, 2025

Ticketmaster has introduced a BeyHive presale as part of three exclusive presales for the highly acclaimed artist’s forthcoming tour. A third and final presale for Verizon members and Citi cardholders is scheduled to launch on Thursday, February 13, simultaneously with the presale that went live on Wednesday, February 12 at 12 p.m. ET.

If you managed to secure tickets through the presales, that’s great, especially if you got lucky. For those who were not eligible, the alternatives are not enticing: either navigate the reseller market, which can occasionally spiral out of control, bet on the general sale, or hold out for a potential Act III tour, if it ever materialises.