Bruce Springsteen’s manager responded to backlash over the price of tickets for the singer’s tour.
Jon Landau told The New York Times in a statement, “In pricing tickets for this tour, we looked carefully at what our peers have been doing.”
He added, “We chose prices that are lower than some and on par with others.”
Landau continued, “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.”
He went on to explain to the Times he believes “that in today’s environment, that is a fair price to see someone universally regarded as among the very greatest artists of his generation.”
Steven Van Zandt, guitarist for Springsteen’s backing band, commented on the pricing in a tweet.
“I have nothing whatsoever to do with the price of tickets. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Bubkis. Dick,” he tweeted.
I have nothing whatsoever to do with the price of tickets. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Bubkis. Dick. https://t.co/NsDJvoLMWu
— 🕉🇺🇦🟦Stevie Van Zandt☮️💙 (@StevieVanZandt) July 20, 2022
Last week, Springsteen received criticism after it was announced that tickets for his tour reached a price as high as $4,300.
Individuals in his home state even expressed frustration with him.
NJ.com published an op-ed titled, “Bruce Springsteen does not care about you.”
Bobby Oliver wrote, “Springsteen, the artist who has defined his career by singing about working-class and disenfranchised Americans, has forgotten his fans.”
Oliver suggested it is “exceedingly clear that Bruce Springsteen does not care how much a given fan spends to see him play.”
He continued, “If he did care, the rock icon who recently sold the rights to his publishing catalog for a cool $500 million — and whose concert tours typically rake in around $200 million at the box office — would refuse to work with Ticketmaster, finance the shows himself, buy permits to use unoccupied fields across America and set a ticket price he alone could control.”
Additionally, a spokesperson for Ticketmaster spoke with Fox News about the backlash.
“Promoters and artist representatives set pricing strategy and price range parameters on all tickets, including dynamic and fixed price points,” the spokesperson said.
The statement continues, “Ticketmaster has created analytical tools that use historical and real-time data to help quantify supply and demand to determine prices.”