India attracts global artists as fans surge with rising disposable income

It's not just Coldplay - several other global artists like Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Louis Tomlinson, Martin Garrix, Cigarettes After Sex, Green Day, and Black Coffee have already performed in India

This year in January, British band Coldplay performed for its biggest concert till now in Ahmedabad with 220,000 people in attendance, making it the largest stadium attendance in the 21st century till now. 

 

It’s not just Coldplay but several other global artistes like Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Louis Tomlinson, Martin Garrix, Cigarettes After Sex, Green Day, and Black Coffee have already performed in India, with several international artists like Guns N’ Roses, and rapper Travis Scott, among others, expected to perform at the Badland Rock Festival and Nykaaland (music festival) later in 2025. 

 

Last year as well wasn’t different, with the Jonas Brothers, OneRepublic, Maroon 5, Bryan Adams, Dua Lipa, and Ed Sheeran (he came to perform in India for two consecutive years) and many others. This follows the rise in India becoming a huge market for international artistes driven by rising disposable income among the middle-income and vast digital penetration, industry executives told Business Standard. 

 

"With the immense growth in connectivity, we are close to a billion devices with the lowest data rates anywhere in the world. That has led to immense exposure among young people about artistes and genres from across the globe," said Naman Pugalia, chief business officer, BookMyShow."

 

The fact that India has micro markets in every genre makes it a very unique country. It can serve all sorts of interests. Another factor is the continuing economic growth in the country, particularly in purchasing power terms, which allows people to buy tickets. This makes it a viable business proposition for artistes and promoters to consider India as part of their core touring circuit," he added.  

 

Pugalia added that with India potentially being the largest country with English-speaking people and being the second largest market for most English artistes in the world is also among the many factors that makes India popular for global artists.

 

Live events as a segment has picked up pace in recent years as it crossed ₹12,000 crore mark in 2024 with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 19 per cent over the next three years, the report titled Ahmedabad’s global breakthrough: The economic impact of Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres concert stated. The concert produced and promoted by BookMyShow Live, in collaboration with Live Nation, the global producers of Coldplay's tour, generated an estimated economic impact of Rs 641 crore including a direct boost of Rs 392 crore to Ahmedabad's economy. It also contributed Rs 72 crore in GST (goods and service tax) revenue to the government of India, the report added.

 

Raghav Anand, partner and leader, digital, media and convergence, EY-Parthenon, said the rise in the creator economy with the prime minister's support and encouragement has been propelling the phenomenon of live entertainment in India.

 

"It is not just international artistes but there is also a rise in Indian artistes organising concerts in India and abroad, which is now happening at a more larger level," he said. On the other hand, the economic impact of the Coldplay concert in Mumbai was close to that of the concert held at Ahmedabad, he noted.

  

Pugalia further added that due to growth in the live events or live entertainment segment, BookMyShow anticipates the revenue contributed by the segment to increase in the coming years. Currently, depending on the year, the revenue of the company between the ticketing business and the live business is about 60:40 or 60:35. However, a decade ago, BookMyShow used to get 90 per cent of its revenue through only movies. 

 

Anand and Pugalia both said that apart from Tier-I cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, other cities that saw a rise in demand for live entertainment are Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Bengaluru. 

 

Pugalia also added that in terms of executive and experience, India’s Lollapalooza event comes very close to that of Coachella in the US.

 

“Governments are increasingly realising the potential of entertainment to generate employment and create economic activity at scale. As this happens, you will not only see the equivalent of Coachella in India, but you will see a lot of local innovation taking place. India will not only export talent but also newer business models and experiences for the rest of the world,” he said.