• Bruce Springsteen spoke about his band’s longevity during a screening of his new tour documentary.
• He has been touring and recording music with the E Street Band since the 1970s.
• “I pay them a huge amount of money,” Springsteen said at an event in London on Friday.

Bruce Springsteen revealed the keys to his success and longevity after 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 was crucial to his career.

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

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

Springsteen has worked with the E Street Band since the 1970s. Although the lineup has changed a few times over the years, many of the members have been with Springsteen for decades.

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

“The actual arc of rock and roll bands is to break up,” he said. “Think about it: how many bands have stayed together and how many bands have broken up?”

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

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

Van Zandt said the band always focused on the music rather than chasing success.

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

“So everyone who participated knew that this was what they were getting into. Luckily, we found a commercial calling along the way, which was great,” Van Zandt added.

Springsteen, best known for hits such as ‘Born to Run’, ‘Thunder Road’ and ‘Born in the USA’, 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 from the sale of his music catalog to Sony in 2021 alone.