QUICK TAKES - Feb. 6, 2009

Bruce Springsteen has posted a letter of apology that his camp has received from Ticketmaster Chief Executive Irving Azoff. It concerns last week’s incident in which many fans were unable to log on to Ticketmaster when tickets to some 2009 tour dates went on sale, but were quickly redirected to Ticketmaster’s resale site, Tickets- Now, where tickets to those shows were being sold at a steep markup.

Springsteen and his management posted their response on his website, calling the relationship between Ticketmaster and TicketsNow “a pure conflict of interest.” Complaints from more than 250 fans have prompted the New Jersey attorney general’s office to launch an investigation.

“Consumers are questioning what transpired and if they had an equal opportunity to purchase these concert tickets. We share these concerns and are investigating this matter,” Atty. Gen. Anne Milgram said in a statement also posted on Springsteen’s site.

Azoff has now issued an open letter of apology to Springsteen and his fans, saying that the ticket service “was trying to do the right thing” but “we clearly missed the mark.” As a result, Azoff’s letter states, “we will never again link to TicketsNow in a manner that can possibly create any confusion during a high-demand on-sale. . . .

“We are committed to helping deliver the most transparent and best live entertainment experience to fans,” Azoff writes. “We will do better going forward.”

-- Randy Lewis