Touré, the veteran music journalist and host, has sparked a conversation about what motivates Beyoncé to keep touring considering there are “easier ways” for her to “make millions.”
The singer has been at the center of a number of social media debates since announcing her Renaissance World Tour on Wednesday (February 1), to coincide with the start of Black History Month.
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While much of the chatter has centered the price of tickets, Touré took to Twitter on Thursday (February 2) with a series of questions as to what would motivate the megastar to choose touring as a source of income when she doesn’t have to.
“If I’m a billionaire (or a multi hundred millionaire) like Beyonce, Rihanna, Jay, etc., there’s no way I’m going on a big multi-city tour,” he began the thread. “When you’re not onstage, touring is grueling and annoying and a hard grind. If you have tons of capital there’s easier ways to make millions.”
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When another Twitter user suggested that Bey might be doing this as a vehicle to employ the dozens who will likely be involved in putting the tour together, the writer held fast that this was still one of the harshest ways for her to go about such an altruistic business endeavor.
“That’s a nice way of looking at it,” Touré replied, “but I don’t think Bey is doing a 47 city tour to employ others and she’s not building a fan base when she’s the biggest recording artist in America, maybe the world. This is maybe the most grueling way she has to make another bag.”
As the conversation between Touré and his followers continued, the idea that Beyoncé might be better off setting up a Las Vegas residency like Usher and Katy Perry — and like industry insiders have suggested Rihanna might do following her Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show performance. But he took objection to that idea as well.
“It crossed my mind that maybe she should set up in one city and do 40 dates and have fans come to her but that would put the tour financially beyond many fans,” Touré wrote. “Expensive ticket plus a flight and a hotel…”
The general consensus among those who joined in the conversation was that the “Cuff It” singer simply enjoys her craft. “Can’t forget the high from performing. Even money can’t replace the feeling of being onstage,” offered fellow journalist Sowmya Krishnamurthy.
Former NFL player George Foster added: “Impossible to get where she is, without loving doing what she does. She don’t need another dime. And she has the means to make a huge tour more comfortable than we ever could imagine.”
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However, Touré remained unmoved in his opinion that a Renaissance Tour was simply not necessary.
“I know Beyonce loves touring,” he responded. “I’ve heard her colleagues talk about it, and I’ve seen it. That’s real. Also, she’s now super wealthy, a mother, and not young. Those are all great reasons to not tour.”
Touré did manage to touch on one question many a Beyoncé fan has asked in the months following the release of her seventh studio album Renaissance, namely whether any of the songs will ever be delivered to fans as videos.
One commenter replied that the tour might be the set-up for the visual treatment fans have been hoping for, writing: “Concert movie for theaters. It’s the only thing she hasn’t done yet. Probably gon be filmed on IMAX.”
Just one day after announcing the trek, Beyoncé extended the Renaissance World Tour in an effort to address the massive demand for tickets. On Thursday (February 2), Ticketmaster announced on Twitter that seven new shows have been added to the North American leg of the global trek after demand for tickets exceeded supply by more than 800 percent.
The extension includes additional stops in cities Bey was already scheduled to perform in, including Toronto (July 9), Chicago (July 23), East Rutherford (July 30), Washington, D.C. (August 6), Atlanta (August 12), Inglewood (September 3) and Houston (September 24).
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However, Ticketmaster noted that “demand is still expected to drastically exceed supply.”
Fans looking to get their hands on tickets to the new tour dates can register through Live Nation, where they’ll be entered into a “lottery-style process” for a chance to be put on the waiting list.
The 40-city arena tour begins overseas in Sweden on May 10, with subsequent European stops in the UK, France, Spain, Netherlands, Poland and Germany.
Bey will then return to North America in July for shows in Toronto, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and her hometown of Houston, among other cities.
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Despite the number of screenshots of marked-up reseller tickets currently circulating online, no official ticket prices for the Renaissance World Tour have been released, as the first round of pre-sale tickets are not set to become available until Tuesday (February 7).
