This year, the undisputed Queen of Pop, Madonna, and her heir apparent, Lady Gaga, are both set to launch world tours, which are highly anticipated by ticket brokers and fans alike.
Fresh off her successful Super Bowl Halftime Show performance, where she performed hits including “Vogue,” “Music,” and “Give Me All Your Luvin’,”Madonna has once again proven her appeal is still as strong as ever. With her new album “MDNA” set to be released this March, tickets to the Material Girl’s 2012 world tour have already begun going on sale, with tickets for the North American leg going on sale today, February 14, 2012.
According to Billboard.com, Madonna’s tour is expected to have upwards of 90 dates, making it the longest tour of her storied career. Among the tours stops will be around 26 shows in both Europe and North America, as well as a stop in Australia where Madonna last performed nearly 20 years ago. Expectations for ticket sales are high, as her last tour raked in $408 million over the course of 85 shows.
Also planning a tour for 2012 is Lady Gaga. While she has yet to announce specific dates for her “Born This Way Ball” tour that is expected to run until 2013, Gaga has been slowly releasing information relevant to her tour. Recently, Gaga released a sketch detailing the stage setup for her new tour. The drawing seems to depict the stage as having a castle theme.
With the release of the stage setup, Gaga also announced plans for a “Monster Pit,” which will be a general admission area in front of the stage reserved for fans who arrive the earliest and dress for the occasion. Gaga has also assured her massive fan base via Twitter that tickets for the Pit will not be sold at a higher price, and admission to the section comes with the chance to be chosen to appear on stage with Gaga during the concert.
As both Madonna and Gaga appeal to similar audiences, Gaga’s choice to wait to announce her tour dates until after Madonna announced hers could very well be a clever marketing ploy, allowing Gaga to schedule her dates to not conflict with Madonna’s, thus taking advantage of their overlap in fan base.
In the same vein, Gaga’s gradual release of information regarding her tour has certainly heightened the media coverage and fan excitement surrounding it. The buzz will hopefully translate into ticket sales.
Both Gaga and Madonna have proven to be shrewd marketing geniuses throughout their careers, and it remains to be seen how their skill continues to play out in their respective upcoming tours
