Jay-Z “Disheartened” With Scalpers, Tix for 9-11 Benefit Reach Unforeseeable Highs

Tickets sold out for Jay-Z’s 9-11 benefit concert yesterday (September 8) in 15 minutes, as scalpers scooped up large amounts of seats to resell for profit, according to the New York Daily News.

As XXLMag.com previously reported, proceeds from the show, titled “Answer the Call,” are going to the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children’s Benefit Fund. Close to 20,000 tickets were purposely set low at $54.50 a pop for the Madison Square Garden event, but scalped tickets are already showing up online for upwards of $45,000.

“We are truly disheartened that certain individuals would choose to benefit from what is meant to be a 100% charitable event,” Jay said in a statement. “We do not support any profits made from reselling any ticket that was meant to be purchased by honest fans.”

Jay said he put the tickets up for sale only days away from the event to curb this from happening.”Tickets were consciously made available for sale as close to the concert date as possible to avoid traditional scalping,” he said.

While the show will be Hov’s only New York appearance this year, fans who weren’t able to buy tickets can catch the performance live on the Fuse network.

The Brooklyn bred superstar will be heading out on a 21-date arena tour following Friday’s MSG show hitting up cities throughout the UK and North America.

Source: XXL