I don’t see her ever releasing the figures of how many ‘slashed price’ or free tickets were given out; what we do know is that thousands were available pre-concert for extremely reduced prices. That’s just Ticketmaster data. We’re in an era where concerts are expected, and do, sell out in minutes - I think it’s reasonable to ask why that didn’t happen here.
I think there’s two issues with pinning it on the album. Firstly country has done well here; I saw Garth Brooks in Dublin in Croke Park - that sold out five times, and that’s an 80,000 capacity stadium. Dolly, Shania, etc - all arena tours.
The second is that if it’s true, it shows Beyoncé isn’t a universally revered artist on MJ, Whitney etc level - but her popularity is indeed dependent on her latest record. I think she’s going to have to shake up the strategy somehow, either playing the popular hits, touring smaller/less or going back to the pop/dance that she does well with.