India’s live entertainment economy is booming, and so is scalping – Entertainment News

When hard rock legends Led Zeppelin reunited in 2007 after nearly three decades, the concert website immediately crashed when a million fans logged in to snag fewer than 20,000 tickets. Such frenzy had been unheard of in India for decades. But not anymore.

Last week, tickets for the upcoming Coldplay concerts in Mumbai in January 2025 immediately disappeared and were resold at exorbitant prices. More than 13 million people flocked to the official BookMyShow platform and purchased 150,000 tickets. The platform distanced itself from the resellers and filed a police report as frustrated fans raised questions about fairness.

Initially, the tickets were priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 35,000, then the tickets were listed on resale platforms at eye-watering prices that went up to Rs 10,000. On behalf of the fans, a lawyer also filed a complaint with the Economic Crimes Wing of the Mumbai Police against BookMyShow and US-based concert promoter Live Nation, accusing them of unethical practices.

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A Live Nation representative confirmed the record demand in India for Coldplay, putting it at “60 times more than the number of tickets available.” “With so many eager fans, we commend BookMyShow for tackling scalpers (those who buy and resell tickets at inflated prices) and protecting access to tickets for fans,” Live Nation said in an email response to FE. Live Nation, which promotes several big names in the industry, sees India as an exciting and growing market for live music. “The success of Lollapalooza India (2023 and 2024) and recent Coldplay sales highlight untapped fan demand for live experiences. As we make up nearly 20% of the world’s population, we are focused on helping more international artists reach local fans while helping to increase the global popularity of Southeast Asian pop with audiences around the world,” the representative added added.

A spokesperson for Viagogo, a Switzerland-based platform that is one of the resellers of Coldplay tickets, told FE: “Viagogo is a safe and regulated global marketplace open to everyone.” Our platform is fully compliant with Indian law – as in all markets in which it operates. Tickets listed on Viagogo come from a range of sources including multinational event organizers, professional resellers, corporate ticket holders, season ticket holders, sponsors and fans who are simply no longer able to attend an event.”

Amit Gurbaxani, music journalist and co-founder of The Indian Music Charts Podcast, said that while it was common practice abroad, it was probably the first time India had seen such a frenzy over concert tickets. “Obviously there is a broken system when it comes to concert tickets. We keep hearing that people in the US paid 10 times the price of tickets for Taylor Swift,” he said.

In fact, there was a fan outcry in the UK recently when a reunion of Oasis with dynamic pricing brought an unpleasant surprise, prompting the Labor government to promise that tickets would be sold at fair prices and the Competition Authority of the prompted Landes to explore the sale. In the USA, viewers have had to deal with dynamic pricing for a long time. In 2022, Bruce Springsteen fans faced this, and Swifties experienced a website crash when they tried to buy tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour 2023. US lawmakers have introduced various bills, including a Boss and Swift Act, to regulate ticket sales, while the Justice Department has sought to break up a supposedly monopolistic Live Nation, which owns sales giant Ticketmaster, and filed an antitrust lawsuit has.

It may take a while for this to happen in India.

When Coldplay performed at the Global Citizen Festival in Mumbai, India, in 2016, a majority of the tickets were free, Gurbaxani pointed out, adding that there had been rumors about their 2025 concerts for months. Therefore, the inexpensive original tickets were a pleasant surprise for many. “But a lot of viewers come just because of the hype. It is both good and bad,” he added.

When Ed Sheeran performed in Mumbai earlier this year, he recorded the highest footfall (over 50,000) for an international act in India, albeit without the hype and chaos of ticket sales.

BookMyShow has planned a second round of ticket sales for Coldplay in November. But Gurbaxani said they were vulnerable to scalpers and there could be a repeat of what happened last week. “People who may not have been a fan of the band but were lucky enough to buy tickets obviously sold them at a higher price,” he said, predicting we could see more of the same among the most popular international acts in India.

According to Nirmika Singh, founder and CEO of talent agency MOX Asia and former editor of Rolling Stone India, Coldplay has a solid fan base in India and “there is no reason why ticketing platforms should use fear-mongering as a PR/marketing tactic.” of Sale.”

She added that India remains a low-priority market for globally touring bands for two reasons. “Firstly, we lack the infrastructure in terms of venues and an organized live entertainment economy. The bureaucratic burden and systemic malpractices that accompany any large-scale ground event represent major disincentives.

“Secondly, we Indians are largely a population that demands free tickets/guest lists and doesn’t see much value in buying expensive tickets to a concert, even though that culture is changing for the better,” she explained.

She also added that artists like Coldplay, Bryan Adams and U2 were selling out and sending audiences into an uproar because “they’re old names that we don’t mind paying for” during peer pressure and concerts that were held at older generations become status symbols; these are also contributing factors.

Winds of change are blowing for live events in India.

According to data shared by BookMyShow, demand for premium live entertainment has skyrocketed over the past year, with 82% growth in specially curated global events in 2022. Approximately 13.5 million people attended live entertainment at over 2023 in 2023 26,000 events.

Ashish Pherwani, head of media and entertainment at EY India, estimates that India has a strength of 50 million households with significant per capita income, driven by economic growth over the last two decades. This is a class that strives for variety and has increased the demand for entertainment – especially after Corona.

The government has already taken steps, such as obtaining permits, to make it easier to hold global events, Pherwani said. However, by further simplifying the delivery of events and building and investing in infrastructure and hospitality, India could increase its potential as a market in many ways and attract the biggest names in live music even more.