Bruce Springsteen Blasts Deceptive Ticketmaster Practices

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 6, 2009 - 5:59am.

Washington - Bruce Springsteen this week blasted Ticketmaster (NASD: TKTM) for redirecting fans trying to purchase tickets for his upcoming tour -- including his May 18 show at the Verizon Center -- to its TicketsNow site, which sells seats above face value. "They did this even when other seats remained available at face value," wrote Springsteen in an open letter to fans. "We condemn this practice... We perceive this as a pure conflict of interest."

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office said that it is investigating after receiving more than 250 complaints, and Irving Azoff, the CEO of Ticketmaster Entertainment, issued a public apology.

"If any fans inadvertently purchased tickets in the resale marketplace believing in error they were purchasing from the initial on-sale, we will refund the difference between the actual purchase price and the face price of the ticket," Azoff said in a statement.

Springsteen said that the "abuse" of fans by Ticketmaster "has made us as furious as it has made many of you," vowing to "make sure" the practices are curtailed on future tours.

http://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/press/brucetix.htm