Bruce Springsteen fanzine Backstreets to shut down over ticket prices

Publisher says staff is dispirited' and that readers and fans feel let down as ticket prices went as high as $4,000-$5,000 for shows

A leading Bruce Springsteen fanzine has announced that it will close after 43 years, citing among other reasons unchecked ticket price hikes the editors say many fans can no longer afford.

In a letter to readers, Christopher Phillips, publisher and editor-in-chief of Backstreets magazine, said staff had been dispirited, downhearted, and, yes, disillusioned" since tickets for 2023 shows by Springsteen, a singer known for his loyalty to his blue collar roots in New Jersey, went on sale last summer.