Coldplay mania shows the power of live entertainment and its business opportunities – The Week

For Deepali Taneja, it was supposed to be an “adventure of a lifetime”. The Delhi-based academic and her friends had carefully planned to buy tickets for British rock band Coldplay’s much-awaited live concert. “My friends and I had logged in well before 12 noon when the tickets went live, and we were in real time contact with each other,” she said.

However, the day descended into chaos as Taneja along with around 1.3 million fans were caught in a ‘digital stampede’ as they tried to get their hands on the 1.65 lakh tickets on offer. It initially caused ticketing website BookMyShow to crash before many found themselves in queues, hitting around 10,000 people. “I kept trying between my phone and my laptop but to no avail,” Deepali said. “Now I not only have the feeling of disappointment, but also the feeling of being cheated. Despite my best efforts, I missed the opportunity!”

Even the addition of a third concert (only two were scheduled to take place) didn’t help as tickets worth Rs 2,500 to Rs 35,000 were snapped up within minutes. Worse, many ended up on international ticket websites or the black market that charge many times the original price. While BookMyShow spoke of “problems caused by suspicious and malicious traffic”, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said the tickets that ended up on the black market “posed a serious challenge to governance”.

What the fiasco also proved was the coming of age of the Indian live entertainment and ticketing sector. “India has emerged as a highly attractive and enticing destination for both domestic and international acts and the appetite for live entertainment events in the country is growing,” said Owen Roncon, Chief Operating Officer (Live Events), BookMyShow, the Coldplay promoter Event and many other high-profile live events.

According to a report by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce, the live events sector generated a revenue of nearly Rs 9,000 crore last year and is estimated to touch Rs 14,300 crore by next year.

While Coldplay and other major events like Lollapalooza (a multi-act music festival planned for the winter) and Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh (sold out in minutes) may be the flagships of the live entertainment industry, concerts are just one aspect of it. The market for live events ranges from theater and stand-up comedy to dance, literary events and of course sports.

And they’re all burning. If the IPL cricket franchise has opened up the true scope of what a well-marketed live event can earn, then those from fields as diverse as literature and comedy are learning the lessons and reaping the rewards. The Jaipur Literature Festival makes its money through sponsorships, but tickets have recently stopped being distributed, rather to reduce the number of visitors. One of the most sought-after outings in Indian cities during the monsoon was candlelit concerts, where musical performances took place against Instagram-worthy backdrops.

The rise of standup comedy as a celebrity career embodies the trend toward live events like no other. Comedians like Kanan Gill and Danny Fernandes have hundreds of thousands of followers on social media and tour their ticketed stand-up acts every two weeks. Previously limited to comedy clubs and small bars, they are now increasingly playing to sold-out halls. Vir Das’ controversial performance in New York last year made it into a Netflix show and won an international Emmy.

“Indians were exposed to different types of entertainment during Covid that came into our homes through phones and televisions, depicting trends from the western world like stand-up comedy. Suddenly the audience has woken up!” said Ambika Prasad Nanda, Associate Professor at Jagdish Sheth School of Management (JAGSoM), Bengaluru.

“Covid is an obvious reason, but that’s not all,” Nanda said. “Many migrants to the metros come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities where we traditionally have a culture where we enjoy music and dance along with films – from Ramnavami plays to Natya Shastra, our classical ones dances and many other folk dance forms. In the big city they usually don’t have the opportunity to indulge in this because they are busy with work and traffic chaos. And now they’re looking for the connection that those experiences provide.”

According to BookMyShow, demand for live entertainment has increased by 82 percent over the past year, with a 2.3x increase in premium event attendees. “Our mission has always been to democratize access to entertainment and make it effortless and accessible,” said Roncon.

BookMyShow operates in the ticket business, both for events and cinemas, with an estimated market share of 75 percent. This has brought with it some criticism – critics point to the high “convenience fee” that the company charges for tickets due to its quasi-monopoly.

Things could very well change soon. Competition is looming as food aggregator Zomato is taking over Paytm Insider, which is also active in the industry. “Zomato sees nightlife as a combination of multiple categories with strong network effects,” said its founder Deepinder Goyal. “The idea is to increase profitability at a combined level while allowing different subcategories to operate with different margin profiles.”

“For Zomato, this acquisition underscores its focus on the ‘revenge entertainment’ segment at a time when OTT players are offering world entertainment at the consumer’s fingertips,” said Srinivas Reddy, Assistant Professor (Marketing Management) at TA Pai Management Institute, Manipal . While it could face hurdles like BookMyShow’s binding agreements with multiplex chains, there are many other models it could work with, such as smaller chains, single-screen theaters and non-film events. The company can leverage its extensive distribution network to reach smaller cities faster with added value.

Zomato has already announced concerts by pop stars Dua Lipa and Bryan Adams to coincide with BookMyShow’s Coldplay, as well as Shawn Mendes and Greenday at Lollapalooza.

Live concerts are major events. Revenue from Coldplay’s concerts in Mumbai could be over Rs 100 crore, while consumer spending on travel, dining and staycation will be several times that. Not surprisingly, travel and hospitality professionals are also thinking hard about this question. “The mindset of Indian travelers has changed. They are now looking for experiences inspired by what they see, follow and admire,” said Santosh Kumar, India country manager, Booking.com.

Live events are considered groundbreaking for the economy worldwide. Singapore, which exclusively hosted American pop star Taylor Swift’s Eras World Tour in the region (much to the chagrin of many neighbors), said its GDP growth of 2.7 percent in the April-June period was due in part to the excitement surrounding the concert can be attributed.

When pop queen Madonna wrapped up her Celebration tour with a free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro this summer, Brazilian authorities spent huge sums (the equivalent of 30 million rupees) on security and arrangements for the 16,000 people who showed up . The advantage? With 170 additional flights that attracted fans from around the world who not only attended the concert but also stayed, ate and drank, Brazil is estimated to have earned nearly Rs 500 crore in taxes and ancillary revenue. For India, this is a lesson as the emerging live events scene comes of age.