BRUCE DICKINSON On Keeping IRON MAIDEN Concert Tickets Affordable: 'We Don't Want A Bunch Of Very Rich People Standing In Front Of The Stage'

On the red carpet of the world premiere of the "Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition" documentary, which was held Tuesday night (May 5) at Cineworld Leicester Square in London, England, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson discussed the changes in the music industry, especially on the touring front, over the last four decades. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "The problem you have is that costs keep going up and everything else. But that's not an excuse for doing crazy, crazy ticket prices. We've always tried to keep our ticket prices lower than the general norm because, frankly, we don't want a bunch of very rich people standing in front of the stage. We want real fans to be standing there, and they don't always have loads of money. So it's really important for us as a band to have that facility. We want young kids at the shows, and they don't have loads of money. They're gonna get their money from dad. But dad, these days, money's tight. So it's important to try and keep ticket prices within the bounds of reason."

Bruce previously talked about music industry changes and the fact that prices for high-profile, in-demand shows can be eye-watering, especially when they're resold on secondary markets, during a March 2024 interview with Mexico's ATMósferas Magazine. He said at the time: "The music industry has done two things. On the one hand, if you're an artist, it's contracted, as in it's shrunk in terms of the amount of money you get paid for your art — unless you are some massive social media thing, or whatever it is, or unless you're a DJ who turns up with a memory stick and gets paid five times what a band gets paid. And they have to split it eight ways, and he just turns up with his memory stick and pretends he's doing something, and goes away with a huge amount of money. So the world has gone on its ass from that perspective. And there's not a lot that any one individual can do about that. You just have to work with the way the world is."

He continued: "I have no desire whatsoever to be a DJ. I'm a singer, I'm a musician, I have bands and people like that, and they all have to make a living playing with me. So I do the best I can to make sure that everybody's happy, everybody's making a living and we can go out and play great music.

"In terms of the way that records are sold — well, records, downloads, things like that — I think it's a lose-lose situation for everybody," Dickinson added. "I mean, you have all the things like Spotify and stuff like that who are basically ripping off musicians by paying them next to nothing for playing their work. And still, [Spotify] can't make money. So they're not making money [and] the musicians aren't getting paid. New bands can hardly afford to start up, but they do. Why? Because they love what they do. It's that that drives them. It's that that motivates them. So, if the streaming services could manage to actually pay people properly for when people listen, which probably means that people listening have to pay more, which I frankly don't object to, and I don't think probably most listeners would. Maybe less people would listen, but it would be people who care, not people who just do it because it's cheap."

Asked if he thinks the skyrocketing concert ticket prices are having a negative impact on the music industry, Bruce said: "Well, two things. One, it depends what the show is and kind of who the audience are. I mean, I'm not gonna go around and say specific artists, because most of the artists that are charging, like, 1,200 dollars a ticket — like in Las Vegas, if you wanna go and see the U2 show, I think it was 1,200 dollars per seat in the sphere. I've got no interest in paying 1,200 dollars to go and see U2 in the sphere — none. A hundred bucks, maybe. But for me, what's important is to try and keep, on the one hand, the right type of tickets at the right price. So by that I mean the right type of tickets, I mean, the tickets that are in front of the stage, which everybody says should be the most expensive tickets. Actually, no, they should be the most reasonably priced tickets, 'cause the people who are gonna go there to the front of the stage are gonna be people who are real fans, people who are kids, people who can't afford the crazy money, but they are the people that need to be down the front; they're the people that are gonna keep this music alive. And then you get the people that they might be fans, but they wanna bring their wife and they don't wanna get too hot and sweaty and all the rest of it. So, there's some seats at the top or something else like that, what they're gonna pick, and those get priced differently."

Bruce continued: "I understand how promoters try and do it to try and not lose money, because promoters are part of the whole ecosystem. Without promoters, there would be no shows. The promoters have somehow gotta make their money back. So, it's a delicate balance, but in general, ticket prices have gone through the roof. And some of the ticket prices that people pay, well, some of the prices people pay, for me, it's insane. I would never pay that price, but then again, I'm probably not a fan of that particular artist. People who are, maybe they think it's worth it. I mean, certainly with my shows, we've always tried to keep the ticket prices within the normal, normal boundaries. And the same with MAIDEN."

A couple of months after IRON MAIDEN performed at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California in October 2023, Bruce told Brazil's 92.5 Kiss FM radio station that playing at the event "was a slightly strange experience for us" because "the people who should be down the front of the stage, because the tickets for the festival were so expensive, they were at the back, and the people who were at the front were just like rich people that wanted to film everything on their phone. But the kids who you wanted to play to were at the back. And that sucks, actually. It wasn't our festival; it wasn't our organization. We're going into America [in 2024] and we're doing our own tour. And the people who are down the front are gonna be the people who deserve to be down the front. They're gonna be the real fans, which is gonna be great."

"Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition" will hit theaters for a limited time only beginning May 7, 2026. The film is said to trace the British heavy metal legends' "remarkable five‑decade journey" with "unprecedented access" to the band's official archives.

Alongside the band, "Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition" features on‑camera reflections from prominent admirers, including Javier Bardem, METALLICA's Lars Ulrich and PUBLIC ENEMY's Chuck D, each speaking to MAIDEN's influence on music, culture and generations of fans worldwide.

Directed by Malcolm Venville ("Churchill At War") and produced by Dominic Freeman ("Spirits In The Forest - A Depeche Mode Film"),the "electrifying film offers an intimate look at [MAIDEN's] uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their global army of fans," according to a press release.

Spanish illustrator Alberto "Akirant" Quirantes contributes newly created key art, following his work on IRON MAIDEN's 50th-anniversary coin for the Royal Mint, which was released to celebrate the band's milestone in 2025.

Formed in East London in 1975, IRON MAIDEN have grown into one of the world's most influential and enduring rock bands. Across 50 years they have released 17 studio albums, sold over 100 million records, and performed almost 2,500 concerts across 64 countries.

The documentary arrives as the band continues its two-year "Run For Your Lives" world tour, which included a triumphant homecoming performance at London Stadium a short distance from where it all began five decades ago.

A recently announced, one-of-a-kind, celebration named EddFest in historic Knebworth Park, England, on July 11 forms part of over 50 shows worldwide in 2026.