MUMBAI: The booming appetite among well-off Indian youth for live entertainment is attracting global music stars as they seek new audiences in the world’s most populous country.
Dua Lipa and Maroon 5 have performed in India’s financial capital Mumbai in the past seven days, while Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes and Green Day are scheduled to perform in the next three months.
“We have been listening to these artists online for years so meeting them in real life was quite exciting,” said Aseem Khan, 23, from Bhopal, central India. star Dua Lipa.
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About 20,000 people attended the concert in Mumbai. Like Khan, many were in their early to mid-20s and had traveled across India to see the show. Two-thirds of the country’s 1.4 billion people are under 35 years old.
Concerts are a great way to spend “a weekend with a bunch of friends because everyone goes to concerts these days,” Khan says.
Wealthy and globally connected Indians are driving demand, according to executives at event management and ticketing companies.
Anil Makhija, managing director of live entertainment and venues at BookMyShow, India’s largest online ticketing system, said: “India is the second largest audio streaming market for most global artists around the world, very effectively meeting the real demand for music concerts.” foundation.
Adam Wilkes, Asia Pacific president and chief executive of AEG, a live entertainment company, said the interest has changed the way global stars look at India.
“What’s been interesting about the last few years is that we’ve stopped saying, ‘Hey, do you ever think about India?’ To them (the artists) are saying, ‘Hey, I want to go to India,'” Wilkes said.
The concert boom has elevated other forms of live entertainment. According to BookMyShow data, there were 27,000 live events, from music to comedy and theater shows, in India from the beginning of the year to November, up 35% year-on-year.
Economists predict ripple effects into the broader economy as concertgoers spend money on transportation, hotels, food and goods.
There will be a “significant boost to overall spending and consumption,” Dipanwita Mazumdar and Jahnavi Prabhakar, economists at Bank of Baroda, wrote in a report on December 3.
At the current rate, they estimate concert-related spending could reach between 60 billion rupees ($708.5 million) and 80 billion rupees annually in the next 12 months.
AEG’s Wilkes said improved infrastructure had also reduced the logistical challenges of staging shows in India, thanks to the success of major sporting events such as cricket’s IPL.
Map graphic showing cities that are live entertainment hubs in India
Map graphic showing cities that are live entertainment hubs in India
behind the boom
The disposable income of wealthy Indians has increased even as growth in the world’s fifth-largest economy slows and the middle class limits spending on consumer goods.
While India’s per capita income remains low, at nearly $2,500 a year, and there is significant inequality, the number of Indians earning more than 1 million Indian rupees ($11,807.77) a year has more than doubled to more than 12 million in the last five financial years. by March 2024, according to government data. India’s financial year lasts from April to March.
The cheapest ticket for Coldplay’s upcoming show is 2,500 rupees ($29.50 USD) and the most expensive is 35,000 rupees ($414 USD). By comparison, prices for a Coldplay concert in Korea range from $46.63 to $761.
Tickets for the first two shows in India sold out within minutes, prompting the band to add three more shows, including two in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad.
Announcing the shows in Ahmedabad will take place at a 130,000-seat stadium named after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Coldplay said it will be “the biggest show ever.” “until now” of them.
It’s a sign of how demand for live events has spread beyond India’s most prominent cities.
“Tier 2 and 3 cities are now thriving hubs for out-of-home entertainment,” says Makhija of BookMyShow.
Bryan Adams is scheduled to perform in the northeastern city of Shillong next week while Ed Sheeran begins his 2025 India tour from Pune, a city about 150 kilometers (100 miles) east of Mumbai male.
Stacked bar chart showing income distribution of individuals earning over 1 million rupees per year in India
Stacked bar chart showing income distribution of individuals earning over 1 million rupees per year in India
According to estimates from consulting firm Ernst and Young, total revenue from India’s live entertainment market is expected to reach about $1.7 billion by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate. more than 20% in the next 3 to 5 years.
“If India can become more than 5-6 cities, like what Ed (Sheeran) is doing, then you will be in the same group as Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, China. Those are the top markets for live entertainment after the United States,” said AEG’s Wilkes.
Sheeran, who first played in India in 2015, spoke enthusiastically about the country and the joy of performing there.
“I really feel the love here in India. Everyone is so excited! I have a similar personality, so I like that,” he said in a media interview earlier this year.