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Photo: Kambouris/WireImage
Over one year after Ticketmaster used what the Federal Trade Commission calls “deceptive tactics” by routing Bruce Springsteen fans to secondary-ticket retailer TicketsNow when regular-priced tickets were still available, the FTC and Ticketmaster (now part of Live Nation Entertainment) reached a settlement today. Initially, Ticketmaster blamed a “glitch” for their error, but in a statement the FTC notes that similar incidents occurred as far back as October 2008. Under the settlement, Ticketmaster promised to refund ticket buyers the difference between the regular cost of the tickets and the higher price they paid through TicketsNow. The FTC also warned Ticketmaster, TicketsNow and secondary-ticket sites to not mislead consumers in the future.

The Springsteen ticket fiasco, which drew sharp reactions from fans, politicians and Bruce himself, was cited as one of the chief concerns against the now-approved merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation. “The abuse of our fans and our trust by Ticketmaster has made us as furious as it has made many of you,” Springsteen wrote on his official Website after news of the incident emerged. “We will continue to do our utmost now and in the future to make sure that these practices are permanently curtailed on our tours.”

The settlement also addressed TicketsNow’s oversold Springsteen concert at Washington, DC’s Verizon Center in May 2009, after which some buyers were never reimbursed for tickets they didn’t receive because of the error. “TicketsNow.com sold phantom tickets without letting consumers know that the tickets did not exist. Then, the company held onto consumers’ money, sometimes for months, when it knew those fans weren’t going to see Springsteen,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. “Clearly consumers deserve better. They deserve to know what they’re buying, including the risk that their tickets won’t materialize.” The FTC criticized Ticketmaster for that scandal, but didn’t issue much else other than a warning not to do it again.

Related Stories:

• Bruce Springsteen “Furious” At Ticketmaster, Rails Against Live Nation Merger
• Ticketmaster Blames “Glitch” For Springsteen Debacle
• Ticketmaster Admits Springsteen Sale “Wasn’t Our Finest Hour”

Earlier this month, Eddie Vedder, Melissa Etheridge, John Mellencamp, Ben Harper and Sting brought the songs of Bruce Springsteen to an unlikely venue: Washington, DC’s opulent Kennedy Center. The full Kennedy Center Honors aired on CBS last night, giving fans the opportunity to see the New Jersey legend sitting beside President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as a cavalcade of artists professed their admiration for his life and music. Caroline Kennedy described Springsteen as “a rocker from the Jersey shore who created his own musical universe and across America and the world became ‘The Boss,’ ” at the top of the show. (Read our on-the-scene report from the Kennedy Center Honors, which also paid tribute to Robert DeNiro, Dave Brubeck, Mel Brooks and Grace Bumbry.)

Look back at artifacts from Springsteen’s career.

“I am not a music critic. Nor historian, nor archivist,” Jon Stewart began his introduction to Springsteen’s tribute. “I cannot tell you where Bruce Springsteen falls in the pantheon of the American songbook. I can not illuminate the context of his work or his roots in the folk and oral history traditions of our great nation. But I am from New Jersey,” Stewart joked, “and so I can tell you what I believe, and what I believe is this: I believe that Bob Dylan and James Brown had a baby. And they abandoned this child on the side of the road, between the exit interchanges of 8A and 9 on the New Jersey Turnpike. That child is Bruce Springsteen,” he said as Springsteen erupted in laughter in the balcony.

“When you listen to Bruce’s music, you aren’t a loser. You are a character in an epic poem … about losers,” Stewart continued. Before a montage that traced Springsteen’s Jersey roots, Stewart referenced Springsteen’s work ethic and heart: “He empties the tank, every time. He empties that tank for his family, he empties that tank for his art, he empties that tank for his audience and he empties that tank for his country.”

Read Bruce Springsteen’s reflections on E Street’s epic decade.

Ron Kovic, the author of Born on the 4th of July, next related a story about meeting Springsteen and being moved to tears when Bruce dedicated “Darkness on the Edge of Town” to him at a San Francisco concert.

John Mellencamp kicked off the musical tribute with an acoustic version of “Born in the U.S.A.” that exploded into a full-band rock out. Ben Harper and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles took the stage for a countrified duet on “I’m on Fire.” Melissa Etheridge next turned in a traditional take on “Born to Run” that brought the crowd to its feet, and Eddie Vedder did an intimate take on The Rising’s “My City of Ruins” with a gospel chorus. Sting arrived onstage last to massive cheers for a performance of “The Rising” that was so intense that even the Obamas — along with the rest of the audience — stood and swayed.

The Kennedy Center Honors also featured Aretha Franklin paying tribute to Grace Bumbry, calling the mezzo-soprano singer “the hallmark of the true diva.” A tribute to Mel Brooks featured Jack Black singing in the Robin Hood role of Mel Brooks’ Men in Tights, as well as Harry Connick Jr., Frank Langella, Martin Short, Glee’s Matthew Morrison and Matthew Broderick taking on selections from Brooks’ hilarious songbook. The sounds of Dave Brubeck’s “Take 5″ filled the auditorium as Herbie Hancock explained how the jazz great inspired him. And Ben Stiller interrupted his speech for Robert DeNiro to stare in awe at Springsteen, chanting “Bruce!” with his fist in the air.

Related Stories:

• Eddie Vedder, Jon Stewart Pay Tribute to Bruce Springsteen at the Kennedy Center Honors
• Springsteen’s Dream Tour in Photos
• Springsteen’s Epic Decade: Bruce on “The Rising” to the “Dream”

Photo: Kambouris/WireImage.com

The Rolling Stone editors picked eight stars — from Bruce and Beyoncé to Radiohead and U2 — who not only made the best music but also led the way as Artists of the Decade in our new issue, which also includes our best albums and songs of the 2000s. Here’s more of our conversation with Bruce Springsteen from our interview backstage in Buffalo, New York, on the final date of the E Street Band’s two-year tour. Springsteen opens up about the making of The Rising (”I was interested in a renewal of the band — and that meant I would need to write the kind of music that would stand alongside our best records and feel connected to the sense of purpose that the band strove for since its inception”) and the E Street Band’s massive tour (”The band hit the road in this decade as the best E Street Band that’s been out there”), as well as his plans for the next 10 years (”I certainly want us to go out and continue touring”).

• Springsteen’s Epic Decade: Bruce on “The Rising” to “Working on a Dream”

Read our other Artists of the Decade interviews here:

• The Decade in U2: The Edge Looks Back
• The Decade in Radiohead: Ed O’Brien on “Kid A” to “In Rainbows”

Photo: Sullivan/Getty

An autopsy has revealed that the death of Lenny Sullivan, Bruce Springsteen’s cousin and the E Street Band’s assistant road manager of 10 years, was caused by an accidental overdose from acute amphetamine and heroin intoxication, Kansas City’s KCTV5 reports. As Rolling Stone previously reported, Springsteen’s concert in Kansas City was canceled in late October after Sullivan was found dead in his hotel room. He was 36. “A warm and sensitive person, he was beloved by Bruce, the Band, the crew, and the entire Thrill Hill family,” read a statement on Springsteen’s Website when news broke of Sullivan’s untimely death.

Photo: Ngan/AFP/Getty
Washington D.C.’s elite rubbed elbows with rock & roll royalty Sunday night as Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, John Mellencamp, Sting and Melissa Etheridge paid tribute to Bruce Springsteen, one of five recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors at an elaborate tribute show. Robert DeNiro, Mel Brooks, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and opera soprano Grace Bumbery were the other honorees at the ceremony, which will air December 29th on CBS.

Get a look at artifacts from Springsteen’s four-decade career.

President Barack Obama and Michelle sat alongside the honorees in the balcony at D.C.’s Kennedy Center as colleagues and friends paid loving tribute. Meryl Streep, Martin Scorcese, Harvey Keitel, Ed Norton, Sharon Stone and Ben Stiller started the night with recollections and praise for DeNiro — although Stiller frequently yelled out “Bruuuuce!” and also said hello to “the Nobel Peace Prize guy” and Brooks, who he described as “the Barack Obama for short, funny Jews.”

Next up, Herbie Hancock explained just how pivotal Dave Brubeck was in his career, suggesting that the pianist “is the reason I don’t have a day job.” Then Carl Reiner offered a hysterical, rambling tribute to his onetime comedy partner Brooks, before stars including Matthew Broderick, Martin Short, Harry Connick Jr., Jack Black and Jane Krakowski participated in a medley of songs from the funny man’s movies and plays (although swastikas were notably absent during the “Producers” portion — likely a nod to decorum and the presence of the Commander-in-Chief). Aretha Franklin appeared in a resplendent aqua blue sari to pay tribute to Bumbery, who she defined as “a genuine diva.”

Jon Stewart came onstage to begin the tribute to Springsteen, and defended his credentials, saying that even though he isn’t a musician or a critic, “I am from New Jersey.” The Daily Show host talked about going to see Springsteen in 1978 at the Capital Theater in Passaic, New Jersey, during the Darkness at the Edge of Town tour and explained how, growing up in central Jersey, he instantly connected with the music. “When you listen to Bruce’s music, you aren’t a loser,” he said. “You are a character in an epic poem about losers.”

Look back at vintage photos of Bruce Springsteen.

Springsteen, sitting between Michelle Obama and Grace Bumbery, wearing a black shirt and black suit (no tie), with the multi-colored Honor ribbon — which Stewart referred to as a “rainbow dreamcatcher” — around his neck, looked alternately moved and embarrassed, as the tributes rolled in. Ron Kovic, author of Born on the 4th of July, talked about meeting Springsteen at a hotel in Hollywood and the singer telling him how moved he was by the book.

John Mellencamp appeared next, talking about buying The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle in a head shop for $3.99, before dedicating a somber version of “Born in the U.S.A.” to the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Next, Ben Harper did his take on “My Father’s House” from Nebraska. Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland upped the energy with a rousing “Glory Days,” before she and Harper collaborated on “I’m on Fire.”

Check out all of Rolling Stone’s Bruce Springsteen covers.

Melissa Etheridge rolled out in leather pants next for a high-energy “Born to Run.” Then Eddie Vedder and a gospel choir did an acoustic version of “My City of Ruins.” Finally, Sting came out and was soon joined by a much bigger gospel choir for “The Rising,” which got all of the tuxedo-and-gowned masses out of their seats and ending the evening in an uplifting, change-the-world mode, as only Bruce’s music can.

Related Stories:

• Q&A: The E Street Band on Bruce — Their Springsteen
• Bruce Live: Photos From the Working on a Dream Tour
• Artifacts from Springsteen’s Four-Decade Career