Bruce Springsteen fans have voiced their anger over inflated ticket prices for his upcoming tour.
Tickets for the first six cities of the US leg of the singer’s tour went on sale through Ticketmaster on Wednesday. Fans were attempting to snap up seats at shows in Tampa, Orlando and Hollywood in Florida, as well as Tulsa, Denver and Boston.
Reports have detailed how Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing model saw mid-floor tickets go on sale for between $4,000 (£3,300/€4,000) and $5,000.
Dynamic pricing allows ticket prices to fluctuate in response to demand, and these tickets from Ticketmaster are called ‘platinum tickets’, which could be placed anywhere in the arena or venue.
Backstreets Mag, a fan magazine dedicated to Springsteen, posted a screenshot on social media of tickets that cost $4,400 each in the middle section of the arena. The mag commented: “Tampa mid-floor for $4,400 each, anyone?”
The account also quoted Ticketmaster’s description of its dynamic pricing system: “Ticketmaster’s Official Platinum seat program enables market-based pricing (adjusting prices according to supply and demand) for live event tickets, similar to how airline tickets and hotel rooms are sold.”
Tampa mid-floor for $4,400 each, anyone? #catchandrelease
“Ticketmaster’s Official Platinum seat program enables market-based pricing (adjusting prices according to supply and demand) for live event tickets, similar to how airline tickets and hotel rooms are sold.” pic.twitter.com/8qyanN0OQA
— Backstreets Magazine (@backstreetsmag) July 20, 2022
Another fan tweeted Stevie Van Zandt, guitarist for Springsteen’s supporting E Street Band, asking: “I imagine you’re tired of answering questions for @springsteen but you are the only that interacts regularly with fans on Twitter. Curious if you’ve seen the cost of tickets for the US tour? Several thousand for floor tickets. These are the Ticketmaster costs.”
Van Zandt replied: “I have nothing whatsoever to do with the price of tickets. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Bubkis. Dick.”
Ticketmaster has not responded to TheTicketingBusiness.com‘s request for comment at the time of writing.
Image: JolandaBakker/CC BY-SA 3.0/Edited for size