The Boss has finally addressed the sky-high prices for his upcoming 2023 tour.
For the first time in his career, Bruce Springsteen, 73, told Rolling Stone that he opted to use Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model to sell tickets. This allows for extreme inflation based on demand.
But fans were not pleased with the varying ticket prices — some reaching up to $5,000 — when they went on sale in July.
“What I do is a very simple thing. I tell my guys, ‘Go out and see what everybody else is doing. Let’s charge a little less.’ That’s generally the directions,” he explained to the magazine. “They go out and set it up. For the past 49 years or however long we’ve been playing, we’ve pretty much been out there under market value. I’ve enjoyed that. It’s been great for the fans.
“This time I told them, ‘Hey, we’re 73 years old. The guys are there. I want to do what everybody else is doing, my peers.’ So that’s what happened. That’s what they did,” Springsteen laughed.
Bruce Springsteen, center, sings with Nils Lofgren and Steven Van Zandt as the E Street Band on Feb. 16, 2016.TNSHe noted that ticket buying has gotten confusing for both fans and artists, and maintained 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. 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?’ ” he reasoned.
While the average Springsteen ticket set a fan back $250, the “Born in the USA” legend said he knew that choosing to sell seats this way may be “unpopular with some fans,” but is still confident that his performances are worth the investment.
Springsteen revealed he would attend Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” in 2023. Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Image“But if there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back,” he quipped.
While Springsteen admitted he doesn’t “like to be the poster boy for high ticket prices,” he revealed he hasn’t totally written off dynamic pricing for future tours. But that discussion, he said, won’t happen anytime soon.
His comments come as Ticketmaster is facing criticism — and an investigation by the Department of Justice — into the fiasco that was the presale for Taylor Swift’s upcoming “Eras Tour.”
The ticket-selling company reported that more than 14 million Swifties flocked to its website on Tuesday, resulting in crazy long wait times and limited — and pricey — tickets for those selected to take part in the verified fan presale.
The company then canceled its general public ticket sale for the songstress’ upcoming tour, leaving millions of wannabe concertgoers outraged.
Swift addressed the disaster on Friday, pointing the blame at Ticketmaster, which allegedly told her camp repeatedly that it could handle the intense demand.
Taylor Swift, 32, addressed her “Eras Tour” Ticketmaster disaster on Friday, saying it “really pisses me off.”REUTERS“It really pisses me off that a lot of them [fans] feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them,” the “Shake It Off” singer wrote in a statement posted to her Instagram Story.
Earlier this week, Springsteen addressed speculation on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” that he and Swift may stop in and perform on each other’s shows from time to time.
He said he would be attending a Swift show, but only because his daughter “will make sure of it,” adding, “She’s welcome on E Street anytime.”
“Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band 2023 Tour” kicks off on Feb. 1, 2023, in Tampa, Florida, and wraps up on Jul. 25 in Monza, Italy.
