Ticketmaster settles Springsteen dispute

Ticketmaster has settled a dispute sparked by complaints from Bruce Springsteen and his fans over ticket sales on the singer's recent tour.

A post on Springsteen's official site had condemned the practice of linking fans to the secondary TicketsNow website when seats were still available at "face value".

The company has now reached a settlement with the New Jersey Attorney General, which included a change in practices and a ticket draw for fans who complained.

Attorney general Anne Milgram said: "I ... want to thank Bruce Springsteen and his management in our efforts to hammer out this agreement. He was as outraged as anyone over the circumstances surrounding the sale of tickets to his concerts.

"Significantly, Ticketmaster has agreed to change its business practices and not allow any link from its No Tickets Found internet page to re-sale internet sites for at least one year, and after that any proposed linkage will not be permitted unless approved by my office."

Springsteen had also expressed concerns about the proposed merger of Ticketmaster with Live Nation, which he claimed would result in a "near monopoly" on concert sales.

However, despite the criticism, the deal was confirmed earlier this month.