It may not fit neatly into a stocking, but Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live/1975-85 is sure to wind up under a lot of Christmas trees this year. Since Columbia released the landmark five-record album last month, it has been selling as quickly as stores can get it in stock. Springsteen Live became the first album to debut at No. 1 on Billboard magazine's best-sellers chart since Stevie Wonder put out Songs in the Key of Life a full decade ago. Retailers signed up for an unprecedented initial shipment of 1.5 million Springsteen record, tape and compact disc sets, but those copies sold so fast that the stores have ordered 1.85 million more. Since the 40-song package sells for $20 to $30, vs. about $8 to $10 for a typical record or tape, Springsteen Live is expected to bring in more revenues—perhaps $450 million—than any other album ever recorded.
That is an incredible and somewhat ironic financial feat for the man known as the Boss, a Freehold, N.J., native who learned how to play the guitar by listening to the radio. In the eleven years since he first gained national attention, the bus-driver's son and blue-collar rock poet who sings of hard times, dying towns and stubborn dreams has become much more than a legendary performer. Bruce Springsteen, 37, is one of the most potent money-making machines in the history of entertainment. His earnings possibly eclipse even Michael Jackson's income, which derives from records, videos, concerts, toys, dolls and Pepsi ads. But, unlike Jackson, Springsteen has always refused to do product endorsements, thereby forgoing at least $10 million worth of offers.
Exactly how much money pours into the pockets of Springsteen's trademark Levi's is one of the most closely guarded secrets in show business, but some estimates are possible. Record-industry experts figure that the Boss is entitled to royalties of between $5 and $6 for every copy of Live sold. If so, he made more than $7.5 million the first week it was out. Should the album meet industry expectations and sell 15 million copies, Springsteen will earn $75 million or more as his share. Fans are still buying Springsteen's seven previous albums, of which 38 million copies have already been sold. Born in the U.S.A., accounting for 18 million of the sales, has netted him $25 million or more.
Springsteen can gross as much as $1 million a day from live performances at invariably sold-out concert halls and stadiums. "There is no performer today who can sell more tickets than Bruce Springsteen," says Rock Promoter Bill Graham. The 15-month Born in the U.S.A. tour, which ended in October 1985, drew more than 5 million fans to 156 concerts in eleven countries, generating ticket sales of about $90 million. Springsteen's probable share: $50 million.
Gate receipts are not the only reward of touring. According to San Francisco—based Winterland Productions, which handles merchandising for Springsteen, fans at a U.S. concert spend an average of $5 to $6 on souvenirs. Among the items: $15 T shirts, $5 posters and $2 buttons. Total merchandising sales for the last tour were at least $25 million, of which Springsteen is thought to have received more than $8 million.