A spokesperson for ticket retailer Live Nation has hit back at claims that Lady Gaga's new tour, entitled 'artRave: the ARTPOP Ball tour', is a 'flop' and instead admitted that the dates have been selling really well.

Arthur Fogel, Chairman of Live Nation's Global Touring division, explained in a statement that fans have been incredibly receptive to the tour in north America and Europe and the company is impressed with how well tickets are moving:

"The run with Gaga over the last two tours has been incredibly successful, and this one is shaping up no differently. When something like Milwaukee specifically comes up, that show has sold 14,264 tickets, the gross is $961,000, and it's at the end of June. I just don't know how this s**t gets any traction without people doing their homework."

Fogel added that the reports that suggest Live Nation lost $30 million on Gaga's tour are just stupid with no truth behind them: "Just a complete fool would say something like that and it could only come from somebody who has an agenda, because it makes absolutely no sense, on any level."

"Forget $30 million, if it were actually true, you'd say 'pull the plug'."

Watch Gaga talking about her upcoming South By South West show here: