ST PAUL, Minn. — "I have been a Beyoncé fan since 1998," said Jovonta Patton, a Twin Cities-area gospel singer.
Patton is the self-proclaimed leader of the Minneapolis BeyHive. At her last concert in town, Patton sang along in the front row.
"I am excited that she's coming back to Minneapolis and we're high on the tour list," he said.
He says her upcoming tour brings back "Déjà vu."
"I've been to about seven Beyoncé concerts and this one will make eight," he said.
But after concerns surrounding Ticketmaster's site crash back in November during a presale event for Taylor Swift's stadium tour, many fans are left asking: Will this happen again when tickets go on sale for Renaissance World Tour?
Cybersecurity experts say there are a few things to consider.
"One, is they don't have the infrastructure to handle the demand that Taylor Swift brought to the table," said John Vandegrift, a cyber security instructor at the University of Minnesota. "At the same time, they are worried about automated ticket sales, where they have these bots that are attempting to log in, so they have to deal with that as well."
The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing questioning Ticketmaster's monopoly-like control over venues, artists and consumers, with Senator Amy Klobuchar saying ticket fees now average 27% of the ticket cost — and can climb as high as 75%.
"You cannot do that to us. Her fans don't play fair, so we don't have the opportunity to buy $2,000 tickets," said Patton.
"I know Congress is asking questions, and it's in their interest, and I have to believe their management is saying we have to address it," said Vandegrift.
The speculation still hasn't deterred fans from getting into "Formation" for Beyoncé's latest tour.
"What I'm looking forward to is taking my kids, my three daughters, and they love Beyoncé," said Patton. "I can't do the wait. I need my tickets today.'"
When reached for comment Wednesday, Sen. Klobuchar provided this statement:
“Competition policy is uniting music fans across the country. Our bipartisan Judiciary Committee hearing last week highlighted long-standing problems in the live entertainment industry that have resulted from a lack of competition. I am encouraged by reports that the Department of Justice is investigating and I hope that the ideas from the hearing will assist them. We’re also pursuing bipartisan solutions in Congress to address ticketing issues facing fans and artists alike.”
Ticketmaster previously issued a statement in response to the Taylor Swift site crash. Here's the link to the full statement.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities in our YouTube playlist: