Fans looking to buy tickets to Bruce Springsteen's first tour since 2016 with his E Street Band were met with an unexpected surprise at checkout last week when they discovered "platinum tickets" were being sold for $5,000 apiece. Now, Ticketmaster is defending the decision to hike up prices on certain stubs through its "dynamic pricing" model.
The ticket service shared sales statistics for the Springsteen tour on Sunday afternoon (July 24), claiming that the $5,000 tickets only accounted for 11.2 percent of all of those sold [via Variety]. Further, the company stated that the average price of each ticket sold for the tour so far is $262, with 56 percent being sold for under $200 face value so far.
UPDATE (7/27, 4:46 p.m. ET): Springsteen's manager Jon Landau has released a statement in response to the backlash, defending the current ticket prices.
"In pricing tickets for this tour, we looked carefully at what our peers have been doing," said Landau [via 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. 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."
If Ticketmaster's calculations are correct, this means that the other 88.8 percent of tickets are being sold at fixed price ranges between $59.50 and $399 before fees. The service also claims that only 1.3 percent of tickets for the Springsteen shows have been sold for over $1,000.
While it may seem strange that Ticketmaster is inflating prices of their own tickets, apparently, this is done to keep scalpers at bay. This isn't a new tactic for the ticket giants — the system supposedly allows prices to drop if seats are still available later, after the first run of scalpers has calmed down. Some have criticized this practice, saying it's just a way for Ticketmaster to scalp its own tickets.
"Prices and formats are consistent with industry standards for top performers," Ticketmaster said in a statement. While some people wondered if these prices were determined by an algorithm, sources told Variety that promoter pricing teams determine ticket costs. This would explain why ticket costs vary from city to city.
On-sales are being staggered over 10 days for the upcoming Springsteen tour. Who knows, maybe we'll start to see Ticketmaster representatives yelling "Tickets! Tickets!" outside of arenas before shows in the near future.
The ticket service shared sales statistics for the Springsteen tour on Sunday afternoon (July 24), claiming that the $5,000 tickets only accounted for 11.2 percent of all of those sold [via Variety]. Further, the company stated that the average price of each ticket sold for the tour so far is $262, with 56 percent being sold for under $200 face value so far.
UPDATE (7/27, 4:46 p.m. ET): Springsteen's manager Jon Landau has released a statement in response to the backlash, defending the current ticket prices.
"In pricing tickets for this tour, we looked carefully at what our peers have been doing," said Landau [via 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. 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."
If Ticketmaster's calculations are correct, this means that the other 88.8 percent of tickets are being sold at fixed price ranges between $59.50 and $399 before fees. The service also claims that only 1.3 percent of tickets for the Springsteen shows have been sold for over $1,000.
While it may seem strange that Ticketmaster is inflating prices of their own tickets, apparently, this is done to keep scalpers at bay. This isn't a new tactic for the ticket giants — the system supposedly allows prices to drop if seats are still available later, after the first run of scalpers has calmed down. Some have criticized this practice, saying it's just a way for Ticketmaster to scalp its own tickets.
Ticketmaster completely missing the point of Bruce Springsteen by complaining that people are angry for the expensive tickets like...Ticketmaster, have you listened to a Bruce Springsteen song? Spending $5k to see him truly makes no sense given his ENTIRE discography
— it was rachatha all along (@RachelLeishman) July 25, 2022
"Prices and formats are consistent with industry standards for top performers," Ticketmaster said in a statement. While some people wondered if these prices were determined by an algorithm, sources told Variety that promoter pricing teams determine ticket costs. This would explain why ticket costs vary from city to city.
On-sales are being staggered over 10 days for the upcoming Springsteen tour. Who knows, maybe we'll start to see Ticketmaster representatives yelling "Tickets! Tickets!" outside of arenas before shows in the near future.
