(Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)
US Congressman Pascrell criticizes Ticketmaster over Springsteen tour price controversy.
A long-time critic of Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster, US Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. of New Jersey released a scathing press release following their latest controversy — widespread outrage over sky-high ticket prices for New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen’s 2023 arena tour. Pascrell did not mince words calling out the company’s “greedy” ticket monopoly in enabling “dynamic” pricing, which has seen tickets going for as much as $5,000 per seat.
“When Yogi Berra said it’s deja vu all over again, he could have easily been talking about Ticketmaster and another unwelcome surprise for Springsteen fans,” said the Congressman.
“After the long hiatus, we are all excited that Bruce is going back on tour,” says Bill Pascrell. But Americans have the right to enjoy some live entertainment without getting ripped off. Ticketmaster sees popular events as an opportunity to soak regular Americans. My colleagues and I are hearing from irate customers who are fed up, and the New Jersey and New York dates aren’t even on sale yet.”
“Fans should know exactly what they are getting into before getting involved with an always high-stress concert ticket sale. And I hope that these policies and prices are reconsidered, or at least better publicized to fans, before the bulk of the concert dates go on sale next week.”
Rep. Pascrell continues, “I was first alerted to Ticketmaster’s shenanigans over a decade ago when Ticketmaster surreptitiously directed Springsteen fans to buy tickets for jacked up prices on their ticket reselling site. And the countless issues since then continue to remind us that the unholy Ticketmaster-Live Nation union should be broken up by the DOJ and FTC once and for all.”
Rep. Pascrell has long advocated for ticketing reform, continually calling for federal regulators to break up the Live Nation-Ticketmaster conglomerate at the industry’s core.
In March, he asked the DOJ and FTC to overturn approval of the merger that brought the two entertainment juggernauts together in 2010. The Congressman is the primary sponsor of the BOSS Act — Better Online/Secondary Sales, which takes its name from Springsteen’s nickname — which he hopes to see reintroduced this year in Congress.