If you were in India and had 900,000 rupees ($10,800, £8,000), what would you buy? A car? A trip around the world? Diamond jewellery? Or tickets to a Coldplay concert?
The British rock band will perform three concerts in Mumbai next year as part of their Music of the Spheres world tour, but tickets will be sold on resale platforms for exorbitant amounts after being sold on the concert’s official website, BookMyShow (BMS). The ticketing platform was sold out within minutes.
Tickets went on sale last Sunday, priced between Rs 2,500 and Rs 12,000. More than 10 million people vied for around 180,000 tickets.
Fans complained about hours-long queues and site crashes, while many also alleged that the sales were rigged as scalpers started selling tickets for five times the price, or as much as Rs 900,000, before they were even listed on the official website.
A similar story happened earlier this month with tickets to an Oasis concert in the UK, with scalpers charging more than £350 for tickets that cost £135. But Coldplay’s ticket price hike is still noticeable. By comparison, Madonna charged £1,306.75 for a VIP pass to her Celebration Tour, and the most expensive ticket to Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert sold for £2,400.
The incident sparked a debate about ticket scalping in India. People use bots and automation tools to bypass queues and buy multiple tickets to sell on resale platforms. Fans are wondering whether the official website took proper steps to prevent this from happening, or simply turned a blind eye.
BMS denied having any relationship with resellers and urged fans to avoid tickets from “unauthorized sources” as they may be counterfeit, but that hasn’t stopped people from browsing the site with suspicion.
Fans have complained of a similar experience while buying tickets for an upcoming concert by Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh. The tickets were sold on concert promoter Zomato Live earlier this month and, after selling out, were resold on resale platforms at several times the original price.
Black market tickets are illegal in India and experts say that while it’s possible that tickets are still being sold on the black market, it’s more likely that genuine ticket holders are selling them through scalpers to make a profit due to the huge demand.
Graphic designer Dwayne Diaz was one of the lucky few who managed to buy tickets to a Coldplay concert from the official website. He bought four tickets for Rs 6,450 each.
Since then, he has been approached by people willing to pay up to Rs 60,000 for the card. “If I wanted, I could sell all my tickets and see a concert in Korea (where Coldplay’s next tour is) – this amount would cover my travel expenses and allow me to experience a new city,” he says.
While Coldplay’s ticket price hike is shocking, it’s not unusual for there to be huge demand for tickets to performances by popular global artists. In fact, India’s live music business has boomed in recent years.
According to a report, music concerts generated about Rs 8,000 crore in revenue last year, and by 2025, this figure is expected to grow by 25%. Brian Tellis, a music industry veteran and one of the founders of the Mahindra Blues Music Festival, says concerts have become part of the cultural currency of individuals and the country.
Chart-topping artists such as Ed Sheeran, Alan Walker and Dua Lipa have performed in India recently, and the latter two are set to perform again this year. “India is a fast-growing market for the music business, like any other industry. It has a huge young and money-spending population. Everyone wants a piece of the pie,” he says.
The growing demand is reflected in ticket prices and sales. About 10 years ago, 80 percent of production costs came from sponsorship and 20 percent from ticket sales, says Tellis, but now the figures are reversed.
“Going to a concert is a mix of showing off, conforming and being part of a scene,” he says. “Some are genuine music lovers, but many go because they don’t want to get caught up in the hype of a concert and feel left out.
Social media was full in the days before and after Coldplay concert tickets went on sale.” Captivating Instagram reels showed packed stadiums performing hits like “Adventure of a Lifetime” and “Fix You,” singing along and transforming the venue into a starry night sky with LED wristbands. Influencers waxed eloquent about their love for the band, and there was no shortage of Coldplay memes.
Industry sources told the UAE Breaking that targeted marketing plays a key role in ticket sales, with event organizers’ websites playing a part. As demand increases, ticket prices are likely to rise. Concerts are hard to organise because they are often run at a loss. So when the opportunity arises, wealthy artists are exploited to make a profit.
Some fans argue that the government should take steps to control ticket prices. Tellis disagrees. “This (ticket sales) is entrepreneurial and it’s not right for the government to get involved because if you want to control the revenue, you need to control the costs too,” he says.
Despite the upswing in India’s live music business, experts say the country still has a long way to go before it can compete with the international music scene.
“We have very few concert venues and they are not up to international standards,” Tellis says. “That’s why artists perform fewer shows in India despite the massive demand.”
Dias and his friends recently travelled to Singapore to attend a Coldplay concert. He says the ticket-booking experience was smooth, the venue was top-class and the crowd was well-managed.
He’s not sure he’ll have the same experience at DY Patil stadium – the venue for the band’s concerts in India. “For one, it’s much smaller and crowds in India can be quite indisciplined,” he says. He’s also worried about how safe the venue will be and whether the crowd will be managed properly at entry and exit points.
But for now, he’s holding on to his tickets and is prepared to endure whatever lies ahead, just to get a chance to watch Chris Martin and company perform again.
