Alan B. Krueger, Economist Who Researched The Music industry And Served Two Presidents, Dies At 58

Courtesy Alan B. Krueger – Dr. Alan B. Krueger

Dr. Alan B. Krueger, a Princeton University economics professor who conducted groundbreaking studies on ticketing and the music industry, died over the weekend, the university announced this morning.

The New York Times reported later in the day that the family issued a statement saying he died of suicide.

Princeton police said they were called to Krueger’s home March 16 and found him unresponsive. He was declared dead at a local hospital, according to the Times.

“It is with tremendous sadness we share that Professor Alan B. Krueger, beloved husband, father, son, brother, and Princeton professor of economics took his own life over the weekend,” a statement from his family reads. “The family requests the time and space to grieve and remember him. In lieu of flowers, we encourage those wishing to honor Alan to make a contribution to the charity of their choice,” according to the family’s statement issued by Princeton University and reported by the New York Daily News.

Krueger was a founder and president of the Music Industry Research Association and a regular source of information for Pollstar, delivering a 2002 Concert Industry Consortium keynote at which he presented an early study of ticket pricing.

He published another study in 2007 on the size and effect of the secondary market on concert ticket prices, which he discussed at length with Pollstar.

He was invited to address the industry after Pollstar co-founder Gary Bongiovanni read his column in the New York Times discussing the pricing of Super Bowl tickets, and remained a regular contributor – most recently leading a roundtable discussion on “Rockonomics: Learning From The Pollstar Boxoffice Database” at Pollstar Live! last year.

Krueger, a lifelong music and Bruce Springsteen fan, was an assistant secretary of the Treasury from 2009-10 and served as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 2011-13 under President Barack Obama. Previously, he was chief economist for the Department of Labor under President Bill Clinton.

He left the Obama Administration to return to Princeton, remained as Bendheim Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, an endowed chair. He was named James Madison Professor Of Political Economy Feb. 1.

He launched MIRA in 2017, and released a study about the lives of musicians last year including startling findings about earnings and health care coverage for the average musician.

His book on the music industry, “Rockonomics: A Backstage Tour On What The Music Industry Can Teach Us About Economics And Life,” is to be published by Penguin/Random House Books in June.

More information about Krueger’s life and plans for his memorial are forthcoming from Princeton University.