Bruce Springsteen’s Fans Have Had Enough

The Boss is starting to hear it from his underlings.

Bruce Springsteen spent decades cementing a bond with his adoring base. How?

It helped that he regularly delivered three-hour concerts for his audiences, and he sometimes pushed his sets into the four-hour-range. Songs like “Badlands,” “Factory” and “The River” tied to blue-collar life in a way that felt authentic, raw. That, plus his greatest hits became an indelible part of classic rock radio.

That connection took a hit last year when the rocker announced his 2023 tour. Fans were ecstatic, naturally, and they understood the 73-year-old legend doesn’t have an indefinite number of tours left in him.

Then they got a crash course in the latest Ticketmaster scheme - “dynamic pricing.”

Long story short? Hardcore Springsteen fans would have to fork up thousands for "mid-range floor seats." Team Springsteen defended the pricing plan via the singer’s manager at first, with the rocker staying mum on the subject.

Later, the Boss explained his rationale to a fawning Rolling Stone magazine, saying he and his touring team are worth the moolah. He even glibly offered a money-back guarantee, one served up months after the controversy first flowered.

And it’s not as if he needs the cash. In 2021, Springsteen sold his back catalog to Sony for a stunning $500 million.

Now, the fans are striking back.

Tickets To See Bruce Springsteen Are Laughably Expensive

Backstreets, the fanzine that started 43 years ago to cover all things Springsteen, is closing up shop.

This wasn’t some flimsy, fly-by-night operation. Deadline describes the publication as “a go-to resource for insider information on The Boss and his plans. It had an international circulation and was fan-run.”

Publisher and editor-in-chief Christopher Phillips shared the reasons for the ‘zine’s termination in a personal op-ed to longtime readers. He couldn’t sugar coat reality.

“There’s no denying that the new ticket price range has in and of itself been a determining factor in our outlook as the 2023 tour approached — certainly in terms of the experience that hardcore fans have been accustomed to for, as Springsteen noted, 49 years. Six months after the on-sales, we still faced this three-part predicament: These are concerts that we can hardly afford; that many of our readers cannot afford; and that a good portion of our readership has lost interest in as a result.”

It’s hardly the only sign of Springsteen’s disconnect with his core values. The rocker recently teamed with elitist ex-President Barack Obama for a podcast, hardly the best way to energize his base. 

It’s hard to Stick it to the Man when you’re sharing a podcast mic with a former President.

It'll likely cost you thousand of dollars to see Bruce Springsteen on your this year. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images).

The Boss Has Lost Part Of His Audience

Springsteen also slammed Donald Trump early and often, ignoring how the blustery leader forged a bond with those forgotten by society. They’re the typical Boss fan – living in red state USA and feeling like the government, and the media, no longer have their best interests at heart.

A wiser Boss could have criticized Trump while sharing an appreciation for the people he reached with his messaging. That wasn’t what Springsteen had in mind, apparently.

Both Springsteen and Trump are fabulously wealthy, but the latter found a way to relate to Joe and Jane Sixpack despite the income disparity.

The rock god once did that, too. Now? He’d rather sign up for the next Super Bowl commercial than take a long, hard look at his career … and the folks who made it all possible.