Bruce Springsteen says paying his band ‘a tremendous amount of money’ has been key to his career success and longevity

Bruce Springsteen onstage with the E Street Band in July 2023.

Bruce Springsteen opened up on the keys to his success and longevity following a recent screening of “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band” in London.

The 75-year-old musician, who is worth more than $1 billion, said being a “pretty nice boss” and paying his band well had been crucial to his career.

“I pay them a tremendous amount of money. That greases the wheels pretty good,” he said at the event on Friday. “And then, I’m a pretty nice boss. The truth is, you need to cast your band well.”

“If you get the art right, the music right, and the band right, you go out and play every night like it’s your last night on Earth. That was the serial philosophy of the band, and we’re sticking to it,” he added.

Springsteen has worked with the E Street Band since the 1970s. While the line-up has changed a few times over the years, many of its members have been with Springsteen for decades.

Bruce Springsteen.

Springsteen described the documentary, which premieres on Hulu in the US and Disney+ on October 25, as being essentially “about the rewards of a band staying together.”

“The actual arc of rock ‘n’ roll bands is to break up,” he said. “Think about it, how many bands have stayed together against how many who broke up?”

“Forget about bands staying together, we can’t get two people to stay together,” Springsteen added.

Stevie Van Zandt, one of the E Street Band’s members; director Thom Zimny; and Springsteen’s longtime manager Jon Landau also took part in the post-screening Q&A and spoke about working with Springsteen.

Van Zandt said that the band always focused on the music instead of chasing success.

“It was never a commercial enterprise,” he said. “This has been an artistic adventure from the beginning.”

“So anyone joining knew that was what they were getting into. Now, luckily, we found some commercial calling ground along the way, which was great,” Van Zandt added.

Best known for hits like “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” and “Born in the USA,” Springsteen has sold more than 140 million records worldwide and won 20 Grammy Awards.

According to Forbes, Springsteen is currently worth $1.2 billion.

He made around $500 million alone from selling his music catalog to Sony in 2021.