Questions over ticket sales for Madonna's upcoming Australian tour

Despite her celebrity status and career longevity, Madonna’s upcoming Rebel Heart Tour of Australia appears to suggest the music legend’s popularity may be on the wane.

Since being announced last June, Madonna’s first tour of Australia in 23 years has been affected by a change of schedule and varying reports over ticket sales.

Following two nights in Auckland (at Vector Arena on 5th and 6th March), the 57 year-old singer’s Australian leg of her global Rebel Heart Tour will play in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane as of next month – now presenting six shows in nine days rather than the original schedule to play Australian dates over three weekends.

While the dates of her shows at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne remain as 12th and 13th March and at Sydney’s Allphones Arena remain as 19th and 20th March, shows at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre (BEC) have been moved from 26th and 27th March to 16th and 17th March.

People who had already bought their tickets for the original dates in Brisbane will find their tickets are still valid for the new dates while those unable to make the new dates have reportedly been refunded the entire amount of their tickets.

Speculation about the change of dates suggests that scheduling changes may be a result of poor ticket sales. Ever since the tour was announced, there has been speculation over the whether Madonna is still able to fill large venues at high prices.

While high demand for during the early part of her Rebel Heart Tour led to additional dates in North America and Europe but Madonna’s dates in Australia and New Zealand have seemingly met with a more mixed response.

While all the $2,000 front row tickets - the Rebel Heart tour features a runway down the centre of the venue - for her Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane shows sold out instantly, as did all the cheap seats priced at around $100, mid-prized ticket (ranging from $306 to $510) are still available just weeks away from the concerts.

Some of the cheaper VIP packages, which cost up to $2,000 each, are also still available.

Madonna's 1993 Australia tour largely played in stadiums, including the Sydney Cricket Ground, leading Andrew Hornery of the Sydney Morning Herald to suggest that her popularity has waned, writing “sadly it seems our celebrity adoration of Madonna has not withstood the passage of time, indeed it has diminished almost as much as the venues Madonna will be playing.”

However, crowds for Madonna’s two shows at the Allphones Arena will come close to the numbers at the SCG stadium show 23 years ago while the price of the tickets and the size of the arenas she is playing, suggest that Madonna will earn about $6 million per show.

Fans, who have already bought flight tickets to journey to Brisbane for Madonna’s BEC via of Jetstar and Qantas for the Brisbane show, do not need to pay anything extra for the change in flying dates as the airlines are partners of tour promoter Live Nation.

However, fans who have flight tickets with other airlines were reportedly angered by the news as may have to meet the costs of changes to their flight tickets.

Promoter Live Nation has been contacted for comment.

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