Ticketmaster Responds To Upstate NY's Springsteen Sticker Shock

Tickets for Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band's 2023 tour stop in Albany went on sale last Friday, and the reaction has been anything but Boss. The response from fans has been so negative and widespread that the ticket giant has issued a rare statement about its Dynamic Pricing system.

According to Ticketmaster, Dynamic Pricing is supposed to combat scalpers by raising prices on first-sale tickets whenever there's a high demand so that ostensibly scalpers can't afford to buy many. When these "Platinum" tickets went on sale, that demand was enough to trigger tickets soaring into the thousands. Many priced-out Springsteen fans are saying this is equally predatory to fans.

Upstate Fan Response

Ticket sales over the weekend for Bruce's MVP Arena show saw long online queues and sky-high prices, which left many taking to social media to share their opinions. Some die-hard fans were luckier than others.

Some fans trying to get tickets felt betrayed. They say the hundreds of dollars for even the worst seats in the house is nothing short of blue-collar betrayal.

Others expressed their frustration a bit more... sarcastically.

As the dust settles, tickets do appear to be slightly more reasonable now that active demand has fallen. Verified Resale ticket sellers (see: scalpers) are selling seats at even higher prices, driven by the original cost.

The first people to get tickets on Friday paid somewhere in the $60-$400 range. As of the Tuesday after, Ticketmaster is selling floor GA tickets for $775, with everything else pretty much-Verified Resale. The cheapest seats I found were in the $270s for upper-level tickets behind the stage.

Ticketmaster's Response

After receiving flak from fans, press, and even lawmakers, Ticketmaster issued a rare statement to Variety to defend themselves, saying only 1.3% of total tickets were sold by them for more than $1k. 56% of tickets were sold for under $200. They say the Dynamic Ticketing algorithm is "consistent with industry standards."

Getty Images for The Bob Woodruf

Bruce Springsteen has yet to make a statement about the ticket prices. There is growing pressure from fans that feel abandoned by The Boss. Ticket sales for the tour continue their nationwide rollout throughout the week.

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Tickets go on sale Friday for Springsteen's remaining New York tour dates - two nights at Belmont Park, one at Madison Square Garden, and another at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. The Barclays show ticketing will not be handled by Ticketmaster. This is not the first time Springsteen has teamed up with the ticketing giant. More on that below: