Springsteen Fan Group Shuts Down after 43 Years

Backstreets, the 43-year old Bruce Springsteen fanzine, is shutting its doors.

Disenchanted by Ticketmaster’s dynamic ticket pricing for his current tour — an algorithm-driven model that increases the face value based on demand — publisher and editor-in-chief Chris Phillips says, “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.”

We reached out to Springsteen for a comment, and his manager Jon Landau told us, “We are very sorry to hear the news of Backstreets closing and want to thank Chris Phillips for his 30 years of dedication on behalf of Springsteen fans everywhere. “

Phillips plans to digitally publish one final issue, the 92nd, and the Backstreet Records shop will remain open as will the Backstreets Ticket Exchange (BTX) message boards for a short time.

The website’s news archives, etc. will remain online for the foreseeable future, and the Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as the Outskirts Dispatch E-mail list, will remain active.

Springsteen’s tour kicked off this week in Tampa