Posted on 11/20/2022 11:32:11 AM PST by nickcarraway
The Boss's rationale for gouging hardcore fans sounds as tone deaf as possible Photo of Christian Toto Christian Toto Send an email2 days ago
Taylor Swift is only 32, but she’s shrewd enough to take her fans’ side in the latest Ticketmaster imbroglio.
The pop princess raged against the ticketing giant after fans struggled to gobble up passes for her 2023 tour.
“I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could. It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”
Bruce Springsteen, a 73-year-old rock legend with decades in the business, had a different reaction when fans balked at the sky-high prices for his upcoming tour.
I consent to receiving emails and personalized ads. I’m worth it. And it took him months to say just that.
The Springsteen kerfuffle kicked off in July when sales for his 2023 tour opened via, what else, Ticketmaster and its “dynamic pricing” model.
[Fans] found tickets going for as much as $4,000-5,000 for mid-range floor seats, and into the four-figures for other, less desirable tickets that remained.
The outrage was real and sustained, but Springsteen remained mum on the matter. The blue-collar bard couldn’t spare a public syllable on the subject, leaving his manager to speak for him.
“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. 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.”
Now, finally, Springsteen addressed the subject directly via Rolling Stone magazine.
The rocker said he generally tries to assess what his peers charge for concerts and lower the rates a bit from there. Now, he’s had a change of heart.
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.
He continued, saying many prices are “totally affordable”
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?’
To soften the blow he’s offering a money-back guarantee.
Springsteen’s populism is well known, at least on paper. His classic tunes have connected with the common man, forging a steel-like bond with his base. It’s been an integral part of his brand for decades.
Now, in his 70s, he’s eager to scoop up as much cash as possible at a time when the average American is pounded by a recession-like economy and soaring inflation rates. He recently peddled his songbook for a whopping $550 million.
Now, he’s looking to cash in anew, but this time it’s his hardcore fans who are picking up the tab. That naked greed may forever taint his legacy, not to mention his progressive bona fides.
I’ve never liked his boring drones. But this writer sounds like a communist trying to tell Springsteen what he should be charging.
It’s called a free market. If someone’s dumb enough to pay thousands of dollars to see a shriveled hippie screech, then that’s on them. Caveat emptor.
Agreed.
Give me a break - Springsteen has been the epitome of limousine liberalism for decades.
Actually, bands always had to make money from touring. The record companies made their money from album sales, so this is the record companies cutting into the touring side of things.
I don’t get this at all. People/Businesses can set whatever price they desire.
Buyers decide if the product is worth the price asked.
It’s called Capitalism, if the tickets don’t sell the show flops, if the tickets sell the show is a monetary success because were willing to pay for the tickets.
Concert tickets could be like bus tickets, show your cellphone ticket image and walk in to the concert hall.
Scalping is preventable.
And so is concert ticket greed.
Yes, you can control yourself, Bruce.
True. But then their songs all ripped off some very good musicians.
I met a singer from a British band a long time ago, and he was complaining how expensive it was, and they had to pay for it.
We have millions of rents subsidized to 30% of income.
We have a president trying to reduce the amount of student debt to $0 for 18 million.
And we have talented pigs on stages reeling in bucks from federally subsidized persons.
I kissed that douche off years ago.
Why anyone would pay to hear a leftist commie crow is beyond me.
Springsteen hasn’t been a “blue collar Everyman” for decades..
Great songwriter and artist, at least through his 1987 LP ‘Tunnel of Love’, not many could match the quality of his work up till then. After 1987, pretty mediocre, but nobody remains at the top forever.
It was laughable to see him onstage with Hillary Clinton in 2016 in Pennsylvania. How low do you have to sink to endorse that witch.
BS has been fabulously wealty since he was like 21 years old. The “working class hero” schtick wore off a long time ago.
My wife and I are 62. We figured it would have taken us about 4 hours to earn enough at our high school jobs to buy tickets to a concert back in 1977. This would have gotten you into most of the A list bands that toured during those days.
$200 a ticket that Bruce speaks of would take a kid making $15 an hour almost 13.5 hours to buy a ticket. And…these acts only play the stadiums. And that adds a whole bunch of expenses.
It’s a shame.
I thought he went downhill after The River. I’ve come to appreciate Nebraska over the years. He did some old folk songs that was an interesting album.
But crap like Born in the USA? No thanks.
I lived near “The Boss” in Rumson NJ before Workingclass Bruce moved to toney Colt’s Neck where millionaires live. Bruce has always been a good image marketer. He probably believed his own BS before “Born In the USA” made him an icon.
My favorite hypocrisy was his album with the Seeger Sings (Pete Seeger was a Communist and played at Obama’s first inauguration). So, millionaire Bruce plays working class songs. How cute.
If people are paying for the tickets, people can afford the tickets. But who would want to see an angry anti-American singer anyway?
Probably could get the same experience for a couple of bucks on ITunes without the obnoxious drunks, dopers, and fools.
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