Springsteen slams Ticketmaster over 'Working on a Dream' ticket sales

New York, Feb 6 (ANI): American singer songwriter Bruce Springsteen has slammed Ticketmaster for its inappropriate way of selling tickets for his "Working on a Dream" tour.

In an angry letter posted on his website on February 4, Springsteen slammed the ticketing company for duping his fans when the tickets went on sale on February 2.

"The abuse of our fans and our trust by Ticketmaster has made us as furious as it has made many of you," the New York Daily News quoted him as having written in the lengthy letter to his fans.

"We will continue to do our utmost now and in the future to make sure that these practices are permanently curtailed on our tours," he stated.

Ticketmaster had irked Springsteen after fans complained that it was directing ticket buyers to an affiliated company that sells seats at a premium cost of 700 dollars a pair instead of 95 dollars.

"They did this even when our seats remained available at face value," Springsteen said.

"We condemn this practice.

"We perceive this as pure conflict of interest. Ticketmaster is there to ensure that we have a good, fair sale of our tickets at face value plus normal ticketing charges," he added.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission earlier this week, warbled an unlikely duet with the Boss.

"The speed with which tickets were made available on Ticketmaster's official resale affiliate site raises questions about whether TicketsNow brokers were given preferential treatment," Pascrell wrote.

According to Springsteen, Ticketmaster agreed to immediately stop directing ticket buyers for his shows to the TicketsNow site.

"Some artists or managers may not perceive there to be a conflict between having the distributor of their tickets in effect 'scalping' those same tickets through a secondary company like TicketsNow," he wrote.

"We do," he stated.

Ticketmaster spokesman Albert Lopez did not return calls or an e-mail for comment. (ANI)