The biggest pop star’s current concert tour isn’t a sellout. And that’s a good thing, according to some in the concert industry.

Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” tour, which kicked off last week in Glendale, Ariz., is a test case in squeezing out scalpers and capturing more profits from ticket sales.

The strategy, which could reset how tickets to high-profile tours are sold, is to use aggressive pricing to limit the ability of scalpers to purchase tickets and later sell them at higher prices. In addition, a program from Ticketmaster is aimed at giving passionate fans earlier access to tickets at discounted prices.

One downside to the plan: empty seats at some of the roughly 36 stadiums on Ms. Swift’s 53-date tour.

However, even if those seats remain unsold, the “Reputation” tour already has grossed more on its North American leg than Ms. Swift’s previous tour in 2015, which brought in more than $250 million world-wide. Across the 17 stadiums Ms. Swift will have played on both tours, she has already grossed 15% more for “Reputation,” with some of those shows still months away.