Bruce Springsteen’s Manager Defends ‘Fair Price’ of Tickets
Bruce Springsteen’s manager, Jon Landau, has defended the ticketing model in place for Springsteen’s upcoming tour, insisting they are charging a “fair price.”
“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.”
Springsteen and Ticketmaster have received backlash from fans shocked at the high cost of premium seating. In some cases, tickets ranged from $1,000 to $5,000, but Landau insisted these were outlier numbers. “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 manager explained. “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.”
Landau’s comments echo Ticketmaster’s earlier in the week.
“Prices and formats are consistent with industry standards for top performers,” the ticketing giant declared in a statement, noting that its policy was designed to lock out secondary sellers and resellers, and pay artists and promoters more.
“Promoters and artist representatives set pricing strategy and price range parameters on all tickets, including dynamic and fixed price points,” Ticketmaster further explained. “When there are far more people who want to attend an event than there are tickets available, prices go up.”
Though Springsteen has not commented on the ticketing controversy, at least one member of the E Street Band has. In response to complaints from fans, Stevie Van Zant tweeted, “I have nothing whatsoever to do with the price of tickets. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Bubkis. Dick.”