Admitting to a publics relations blunder, Ticketmaster Entertainment has apologized to Bruce Springsteen and his fans for re-routing customers to its TicketsNow subsidiary, where ticket prices are more expensive. Just hours after a posting on Springsteen’s website lambasted the company for the re-routing practice, Ticketmaster Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff issued a statement under the heading, “An Open Letter of Apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team.”
Among Azoff’s comments was the following: “While we were genuinely trying to do the right thing for fans in providing more choices when the tickets they requested from the primary on-sale were not available, we clearly missed the mark.”
To make amends, Azoff wrote that the company is offering to refund the difference between the price of any Springsteen concert ticket purchased on TicketsNow and the actual face value of the ticket. He also wrote that the company “will [no longer] present an option to go to TicketsNow from Ticketmaster without the consent of the artist and the venue.”
The PR blunder comes at an especially controversial time for Ticketmaster. Specifically, a merger between Ticketmaster Entertainment and Live Nation could be finalized as early as next week. Many in the music community – including Springsteen – oppose the merger on the grounds that it would create a near-monopoly with regard to live music entertainment.
Below is the full text of Azoff’s open letter:
An Open Letter of Apology to Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau and the entire Springsteen Tour Team:
While we were genuinely trying to do the right thing for fans in providing more choices when the tickets they requested from the primary on-sale were not available, we clearly missed the mark. Fans are confused and angry, which is the opposite of what we hoped to accomplish. We sincerely apologize to Bruce, his organization and, above all, his fans.
We recognize that we need to change our course. We have committed to Bruce and state publicly here that we have taken down all links for Bruce's shows directing fans from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow. This redirection only occurred as a choice when we could not satisfy fans' specific search request for primary ticket inventory, but to make sure there is no misunderstanding in the future, we also publicly state that we will never again link to TicketsNow in a manner that can possibly create any confusion during a high-demand on-sale.
Specifically, we will not present an option to go to TicketsNow from Ticketmaster without the consent of the artist and the venue, both of whom work together to bring the joy of live entertainment to millions of fans.
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. (Please don't abuse this good faith gesture - we did not give brokers any preferential access to tickets.)
We are committed to helping deliver the most transparent and best live entertainment experience to fans. We will do better going forward.
Sincerely,
Irving Azoff, CEO, Ticketmaster Entertainment