the boss!!!

Bruce Springsteen ... possibly surrounded by 2,262 friends and family members. Photograph: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

When hundreds of fans failed to get Bruce Springsteen concert tickets last month, they were quick to blame the usual suspects – Ticketmaster and other ticket brokers. But the Boss may himself have been partly responsible, according to a new report, withholding thousands of the best seats.

Springsteen, his agent, his label and the gig's promoter held back 2,262 tickets from the East Rutherford, New Jersey gig on 21 May – about 12% of the total, the New Jersey Star-Ledger has reported. These included 90% of the seats in the four sections closest to the stage.

As high demand for the concert drove up secondary ticket prices, fans responded with outrage – petitioning state attorney general Anne Milgram to investigate the resale market. But while Ticketmaster and other major resellers are now in the spotlight, it's Springsteen's cordoned-off seats that reduced the supply and helped send prices skyrocketing.

By withholding 12% of tickets, the concert's organisers may have been breaking the law. According to the 2001 statute that regulates New Jersey ticket sales, it is forbidden "to withhold those tickets from sale to the general public in an amount exceeding 5% of all available seating for the event".

"They are allowed to hold back 5% for family, fan clubs, friends, sponsors, for the band, for the producer, for everyone involved," New Jersey assembly member Peter Biondi told the Star-Ledger. "[The law] is there for a reason. The intent was to have enough tickets available to have fair and open pricing."

Organisers inevitably disagree, claiming that the 5% rule applies only to the promoter – not to tickets reserved by artists, sponsors and media. "The holds are a necessary part of doing business," spokesman John Samerjan said. "We work with the attorney general and consumer affairs. They were aware of exactly where every ticket is going."

There's at least one reassurance for fans – none of the 9,800 nose-bleed seats in the arena's upper level were withheld.

source: the guardian