Global music stars head to India as young, affluent Indians pack concerts

Number of live events in India up 35% year-on-year. Industry insiders say India could soon rival Australia, Canada, China and UK for live tours

Mumbai: Young, well-to-do Indians’ booming appetite for live entertainment is attracting global music stars as they seek out new audiences in the world’s most populous nation.

Dua Lipa and Maroon 5 performed in India's financial capital Mumbai in the past seven days, while Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes and Green Day have concerts planned over the next three months.

"We've been listening to these artists online for years so seeing them in real life is quite exciting," said Aseem Khan, a 23-year old from Bhopal in central India, as he queued with three friends to see British-Albanian pop star Dua Lipa.

About 20,000 people went to the Mumbai concert. Like Khan, many were in their early to mid 20s, and had travelled from across India to see the show. Two-thirds of the country's 1.4 billion population is under the age of 35.

Performances are a great way to spend "a weekend with multiple groups of friends as everyone is going to concerts these days," Khan said.

Affluent, globally connected Indians are driving the demand, according to executives at event management and ticketing firms.

"India is the second largest audio streaming market for most global artists around the world, translating very effectively to heightened demand on-ground for music concerts," said Anil Makhija, chief operating office for live entertainment and venues at BookMyShow, India's largest online ticketing platform.

The interest has changed how global stars are looking at India, said Adam Wilkes, president and chief executive for Asia Pacific at AEG, a live entertainment firm.

"What's been interesting the last few years is that it's gone from us saying, 'Hey, you ever think about India?' To them (artists) saying, 'Hey, I want to go to India,'" Wilkes said.

The concert boom has lifted other forms of live entertainment. There have been 27,000 live events, from music to comedy shows and theatre, in India so far this year to November, 35% more than in the same period last year, according to BookMyShow data.

Economists predict spillover effects into the wider economy as concert-goers splash out on transport, hotels, food and merchandise.

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 Dec. 3.

At the current pace, they estimated concert-linked spending could total between Rs 6,000 Cr ($708.5 million) and Rs 8,000 Cr on an annualised basis over the next 12 months.

AEG's Wilkes says infrastructure improvements have also reduced the logistical challenges of staging shows in India, helped by the success of major sporting events such as cricket's IPL.

BEHIND THE BOOM Affluent Indians' disposable income has been increasing even as growth in the world's fifth largest economy sees a slowdown and the middle class reins in spending on consumer goods.

While India's average per capita income remains low at close to $2,500 a year and there is significant inequality, the number of Indians earning more than Rs 10 lakhs ($11,807.77) a year has more than doubled to over 12 million over the last five financial years to March 2024, according to government data. India's financial year runs from April to March.

The cheapest tickets for Coldplay's upcoming shows were 2,500 rupees ($29.50) and the most expensive 35,000 rupees ($414). By comparison, prices for a Coldplay concert in South Korea were priced between $46.63 (Rs 3,949) and $761 (Rs 64,444).

Tickets for the initial two India shows sold out within minutes, prompting the band to add three more dates including two in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad.

Announcing the Ahmedabad performances would take place in a 130,000-seater stadium named after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Coldplay said it would be their "biggest ever show".

It was a sign of how the appetite for live events has spread beyond India's most prominent cities.

"Tier 2 and 3 cities are now the thriving hubs for out-of-home entertainment," said Makhija of BookMyShow.

Bryan Adams is set to perform in the northeastern city of Shillong next week while Ed Sheeran kicks off his 2025 tour of India from Pune, a city about 150 km (100 miles) southeast of Mumbai.

Aggregate revenue from India’s live entertainment market is expected to reach about $1.7 billion by 2026, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of more than 20% over the next three to five years, according to estimates from consulting firm Ernst and Young.

"If India can become 5-6 plus cities, like what Ed (Sheeran) is doing, then you're sort of in the same bucket as Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, China. Those are the top, top markets for live entertainment after the United States," said AEG's Wilkes.

Sheeran, who first played in India in 2015, has talked enthusiastically about the country and the joy of performing there.

"I really feel the love here, in India. People are so excited! I have a similar personality, so I resonate with that," he said in a media interview earlier this year.