Bruce Springsteen Knows His $5,000 Concert Tickets Are ‘Unpopular’ — ‘We Went for It’
Bruce Springsteen fans weren’t happy with the Boss’s choice to use Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” program. Here’s what the Only the Strong Survive artist said about his 2023 tour and the $5000 tickets.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band embark on a 2023 tour
In 2022 the Boss dropped his full-length album Only the Strong Survive. He also announced his upcoming world tour with the E Street Band. The North American leg of the tour closes with an April 14 performance at Newark’s Prudential Center, a nod to Springsteen’s New Jersey roots.
Bruce Springsteen said selling concert tickets has ‘gotten very confusing’
Tickets became available for purchase via a Ticketmaster presale registration. There, fans were prompted to select their preferred venue and date. Some were given a confirmation, providing them access to tickets through the platform. Springsteen elaborated on his perspective during an interview with Rolling Stone.
“But ticket buying has gotten very confusing, not just for the fans, but for the artists also,” Springsteen said. “And the bottom line is that most of our tickets are totally affordable. They’re in that affordable range. We have those tickets that are going to go for that [higher] price somewhere anyway.”
“The ticket broker or someone is going to be taking that money,” he added. “I’m going, “Hey, why shouldn’t that money go to the guys that are going to be up there sweating three hours a night for it?’”
Bruce Springsteen’s team responded to his $5000 concert tickets
Thanks to Ticketmaster’s “dynamic pricing” program, ticket costs are adjusted in real time depending on demand. As a result, some seats sold for over $5000 — a shock to most fans, who know Springsteen for his working-class persona. Springsteen was aware of the situation, although he didn’t know the severity of Ticketmaster’s price gouging.
“It created an opportunity for that to occur,” Springsteen noted in the same interview. “And so at that point, we went for it. I know it was unpopular with some fans. But if there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back.”
Most dates for Springsteen’s upcoming tour sold out. As of July 30, 2022, the only Ticketmaster tickets for Madison Square Garden were “verified resale tickets,” ranging from $435 to $2073. Springsteen’s manager later released a statement regarding ticket prices — and the negative fan response.
“In pricing tickets for this tour, we looked carefully at what our peers have been doing,” Landau said in a statement to The New York Times. “We chose prices that are lower than some and on par with others.”
“Regardless of the commentary about a modest number of tickets costing $1,000 or more, our true average ticket price has been in the mid-$200 range,” the statement continues. “I believe that in today’s environment, that is a fair price to see someone universally regarded as among the very greatest artists of his generation.”
