Springsteen in dispute with Ticketmaster

Bruce Springsteen has criticised Ticketmaster for redirecting his fans to a secondary ticket site.

A letter on Springsteen's official website claimed that fans trying to buy tickets for his latest tour were sent to TicketsNow, "even when other seats remained available at face value".

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

"TicketsNow is supposed to be a secondary site where people who already have tickets may exchange, trade, and, unfortunately, speculate with them. We have asked this redirection from Ticketmaster to TicketsNow cease and desist immediately and Ticketmaster has agreed to do so in the future and has removed its unwanted material from their and our site."

Springsteen and his manager John Landau also voiced concerns over a proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation, which they claimed would bring about a return of a "near monopoly" on concert tickets sales.

The American singer, who is currently at number one with his Working On A Dream album, is expected to play UK shows at Glastonbury and Hyde Park this summer.