When The Weeknd wiped out his long postponed tour and announced he would be moving from arenas into stadiums in 2022, some fans were worried that would bring with it a big increase in price. Apparently, they were right.

Fans have taken to social media as The Weeknd After Hours Til Dawn tour began its presale period on Friday, venting their frustrations at the aggressive pricing structure the singer and his team have apparently chosen for the run. The complaints are similar to those heard when Billie Eilish cancelled her 2020 shows and put new shows on sale in 2021.

“I don’t usually complain about concert prices – but the weeknd tour tickets are [brain exploding emoji],” tweeted @Farhan21 on Friday, when those who purchased tickets to the since-cancelled 2020 dates were given their opportunity to buy tickets. “Want to be on the floor? $375 (not platinum). cheapest ticket in toronto around $90 in the literal nosebleeds (500 level). Cancelled his arena tour to do stadiums and jacked up prices 3x. madness.”

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Other reactions spanned the emotional spectrum from humorous to truly upset, but shared a common theme – the prices were seriously higher than anyone anticipated, particularly given the size of the venues being filled.

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Because they are currently in presale, we can’t see the full range of prices that are being charged, but it looks like the general range for tickets that are not “platinum” and therefore dramatically higher, is around $105 minimum after fees for the top rows of the nosebleeds in NFL stadiums, ranging to $613 for floor seats after fees. Platinum pricing is also being used liberally – for tickets to MetLife Stadium, it appears that the lower level’s first 11 rows are all “platinum” and over $500 a seat, compared to $460 for the aisle seats the rest of the way up in the section (though non-aisle seats are likely slightly less, as has become practice for Live Nation shows).

The pricing plans are an illustration of the new normal in ticketing, which appears to be prioritizing a maximization of profit on every seat in the building. Platinum and other pricing surge tactics were cited in Live Nation’s recent earnings report as the key to the company rebounding so quickly in revenue as the post-pandemic reopening continues.

Tickets are in presale now, with general public on sale beginning on Friday, March 10. We will see if the pricing strategy works out for The Weeknd, or if it backfires and turns into another Taylor Swift situation where those who wait until the last minute to purchase are treated to huge discounts when the aggressive pricing plans collapse.

The Weeknd Ticket Links

The Weeknd Tickets at Ticketmaster
The Weeknd Tickets at AXS
The Weeknd tickets at SeatGeek
iconThe Weeknd Tickets at StubHub
The Weeknd Tickets at Ticket Club | Free Membership Offer
The Weeknd Tickets at TicketNetwork
The Weeknd Tickets at TicketSmarter
The Weeknd Tickets at TickPick
The Weeknd Tickets at Vivid Seats

The Weeknd After Hours Til Dawn World Tour Dates

Fri, Jul 8 – Rogers Centre | Toronto, Canada
Thu, Jul 14 – Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia, PA, USA
Sat, Jul 16 – Metlife | New York, NY, USA
Thu, Jul 21 – Gillette Stadium | Boston, MA, USA
Sun, Jul 24 – Soldier Field | Chicago, IL, USA
Wed, Jul 27 – Ford Field | Detroit, MI, USA
Sat, Jul 30 – Fedex Field | Washington, DC, USA
Thu, Aug 4 – Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, FL, USA
Sat, Aug 6 – Hard Rock Stadium | Miami, FL, USA
Thu, Aug 11 – Mercedes Benz Stadium | Atlanta, GA, USA
Sun, Aug 14 – AT&T Stadium | Arlington, TX, USA
Thu, Aug 18 – Empower Field At Mile High | Denver, CO, USA
Sat, Aug 20 – Allegiant Stadium | Las Vegas, NV, USA
Tue, Aug 23 – BC Place | Vancouver, Canada
Thu, Aug 25 – Lumen Field | Seattle, WA, USA
Sat, Aug 27 -Levi’s Stadium | San Francisco, CA, USA
Tue, Aug 30 – State Farm Stadium | Phoenix, AZ, USA
Fri, Sep 2 – SoFi Stadium | Los Angeles, CA, USA

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