International musicians can't afford to skip India anymore—here's why

The appetite for live music performances among India’s young demographic armed with a keen ear and a purchasing power is on the rise—and it isn’t just restricted to prominent metro cities.

Tickets for Coldplay’s performances in 2025 sold out before you could say Viva La Vida. Eight years after their Mumbai debut in 2016, Chris Martin and his fellow band mates are back with five shows across the country (Mumbai on 18, 19, 21 January; Ahmedabad on 25, 26 January) as a part of their Music of the Spheres World Tour. Three of these dates were added at the eleventh hour, after tickets for the first two shows sold out within a mere few minutes. Their gig at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on 25 January—, with a jaw-dropping capacity of 1.32 lakh spectators—will be their biggest show till date. For India’s young, globalised generation who have a taste for Coldplay, this isn’t just a music concert—it’s confirmation that India is no longer an afterthought on bands’ and artists’ global touring map.

Credibility core

It began with the Sunburn Festival in Goa back in 2007, which has since brought big international names in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) space, including David Guetta, Skrillex, and Martin Garrix. “A decade ago, top-tier DJs and EDM artists began touring India regularly, laying the groundwork for festivals and large-scale events. This, combined with the emergence of alternative IPs and festivals across genres, helped make India a hotspot for international artistes,” says Dev Bhatia, COO, Big Bad Wolf, organiser of the current Prateek Kuhad Silhouettes Tour. Music festivals in India like Lollapalooza have ignited a cultural shift, blending local artistry with international acts, thus drawing crowds from both Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, he adds. 

Organiser BookMyShow, which has brought Westlife, Backstreet Boys, Ed Sheeran, Deep Purple, U2, and Post Malone, besides enabling Maroon 5’s debut show in India in December 2024, also brought multi-genre music festival Lollapalooza to the country in 2023. Following acts by Sting and One Republic at the festival in Mumbai in 2024, Green Day and Shawn Mendes will headline at the 2025 edition. 

The NH7 Weekender, which debuted in Pune in 2010, gave the local indie music scene a push, helping nurture audiences and develop fanbases across genres. Organiser OML (Only Much Louder) modelled it on the Glastonbury Festival in Britain, and expanded to cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi-NCR, and Shillong over the years, bringing the likes of Joe Satriani, Mark Ronson, Megadeth and Steve Vai to India. In 2021, OML’s live events and IP business was bought over by esports company NODWIN Gaming, a subsidiary of Nazara Technologies Limited, for a sum of ₹73 crores. 

India is no longer an “exotic destination” for artists. “There's a growing realisation that live performances can be a profitable venture, leading to more gigs for independent Indian acts,” points out Ayush Singh, vocalist and founder of music management agency at Art Fidelity Productions, who grew up in Lucknow. “When Diljit Dosanjh performed in November 2024 in this Tier 2 city, the turnout was massive. The growing concert culture in the country extends to all social stratas, and that was impossible earlier,” he adds. 

The increased spending power in the country is also responsible for people buying tickets for music concerts. A study by Bank of Baroda in December 2024, titled A ‘concert’-ed push for the economy by Dipanwita Mazumdar, Jahnavi Prabhakar, states that “India's emerging economy around live music and entertainment events offers a potential of ₹6,000-8,000 crore spending spree, if explored further in the coming days”.

In 2023, BookMyShow alone hosted 26,000-plus events with 13.5 million attendees. “Besides, India is the second-largest market when it comes to audio streaming numbers, making it lucrative for live music,” says Anil Makhija, COO, Live Entertainment and Venues, BookMyShow. 

India has hosted top international artists earlier too. The year 1996 saw Michael Jackson perform in Mumbai, in addition to acts by Porcupine Tree, Metallica, and Iron Maiden over the years. Private events, such as the recent wedding in the Ambani family, also see top global performers such as Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and Rema. have all performed in the land previously perceived exclusive to Bollywood. Delhi-based singer-songwriter Aronjoy Das grew up listening to his father talk about watching Bruce Springsteen and Sting in India in the 1980s. “Today, it’s not a one-off spectacle, but multiple-city tours, more frequently,” says Das. Take Ed Sheeran, for instance, who debuted in India in 2015 in Mumbai, returned in 2017, then 2024, and will be back for a six-city tour in 2025. 

A digital media movement

Apps like Spotify, Youtube, and Apple Music are helping international artists recognise the value of performing in India. They provide accurate data and statistics to artists—who are the listeners, where are they based, and for how long do they tune in. These numbers also help organisers of music festivals analyse the scale, promotion, and production of shows in India. Combine that with the power of social media. and fandom becomes impossible to ignore.

“Social media has linked millions of people, which means now when an artist blows up, they don’t stay localised. It doesn’t matter if they sing in their local language or in English. For example, Delhi-based metal band Bloodywood sing in Hindi and Punjabi, with some English rap, and has a huge fanbase in Europe, Russia, and Japan,” says composer, singer, producer Anand Bhaskar, also the founder of Anand Bhaskar Collective.

For larger shows, BookMyShow worked with local authorities to turn Mumbai’s sprawling Mahalaxmi Racecourse into the venue for Lollapalooza, as well as for acts by Ed Sheeran and Maroon 5, among others. For concerts in Bengaluru, BookMyShow worked with landowners to repurpose unused spaces at the Embassy International Riding School, NICE Grounds, and Bhartiya Mall of Bengaluru. 

“The advancement of personnel and production capabilities of Indian companies and vendors has helped maintain costs and provide for creating world-class production levels,” says Kallol Bordoloi, A&R, Touring & Production Head, at Skillbox India. International artists demand production standards that require significant investment, says Bhatia, which adds to the concert’s total cost. “Plus, ticket prices in India are lower than Western and regional markets, so bridging this gap with sponsorship becomes critical,” he furthers. 

Money matters

The biggest expenditure is the artist fee. Bryan Adams is allegedly charging half a million alone. Amarjeet Singha, the CSO & Head of IPs, Festivals & Touring at Skillbox, admits that the artist fee is around 60-70 per cent of the total budget. “For a mid-level act, a fee of $USD100,000 fee is peanuts, but not if you convert it to rupees,” he explains. 

Touring artistes, including Delhi’s Bloodywood, which has been playing AT festivals across Europe and the United States since 2022, ask for a deal with organisers that has a touring guarantee, according to which even if one person shows up for the performance, there’s a guaranteed amount the band get paid. 

The economics involved in bringing any big international act to India is ₹40 to 60 crores, according to VG Jairam, founder of Hyperlink Brand Solutions, which organises the upcoming Mahindra Blues Festival, factoring in artist fees, production, travel, and marketing. For larger budgets, Bordoloi says it’s key companies like BookMyShow and Zomato Live and their IP District that have the ability to take calculated risks of bringing A-listers to India. 

Sponsors Inc.

Sponsorship deals often contribute up to 40-50 per cent of the total amount for a festival, with brands seeking greater visibility among India’s young demographic. For festivals like the Jaipur Literature Festival and Jaigarh Heritage and Music Festival, the market is heavily dependent on sponsorship, says Avik Roy, head of music at Teamwork Arts, which organises both. “We need to move towards ticketing,” says Roy. 

Social media makes sponsorship easier as it amplifies ticket sales and creates a high fan engagement in advance, and most brands view it as a tangible return of investment. 

While agency or label representation can simplify reaching out and securing deals with international artists, it adds to the cost, says musician and vocalist Nisa Shetty, who has toured with AR Rahman and Arijit Singh. Artist Hanumankind, meanwhile, has signed a deal with Def Jam India, which helped him bag Coachella in 2025. “But there are many draconian label deals,” says Bhaskar. “Sometimes the label owns the entire music, and the artist is given a lump sum amount. But if the artist becomes a famous name, the label has the financial muscle and network to get them visibility.”  

A chunk of expenses goes towards procuring several permissions and licenses required to organise a festival or a performance. a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the venue, the local police station, the traffic police department, the fire brigade, the Additional Collectors’ Office, the police commissioner’s note, and an ambulance with a doctor if the venue is at an open ground. There are secondary licenses too—an Excise Licence to serve alcohol, besides a Foreign Artist Permission for international artists. What is vital is for the government to work with the organisers to avoid fiascos, such as what happened at the NH7 Weekender in Pune in December 2024. The festival was cancelled—and that too on the very day of the performances—as police permission was denied. This was unexpected, given the festival’s credible reputation. 

Big-ticket shows and music festivals in India can be a huge driver of revenue for the host city’s economy. “Every festival in the United Kingdom has a big city associated with it. Mirror that in India,” suggests Roy. The Bank of Baroda study cites that income from concerts have spiked 9.5 times recently, and that India is seventh, globally, in making revenue from it. 

The dilemma of scalping

Things can still go wrong—like the scalping or resale of Coldplay’s tickets for their upcoming performances in Mumbai and Ahmedabad at almost 10 times the original price. But it’s common outside too: It happened at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in the US in 2023 and 2024 with Ticketmaster. 

When Oasis announced their reunion tour across the UK in October 2024, the waiting queues went up to 3,00,000, with scalpers reselling tickets at ridiculous prices. FOMO is a factor, but it only adds to someone’s revenue. “Or, artists play multiple nights. Coldplay did 10 nights in Argentina, for instance. The more shows they do, the less the pressure on the shows, which reduces scalping,” says Roy. 

India on the global map

In the first half of 2025, Coldplay is doing four shows in Abu Dhabi, four in Hong Kong, and six in Seoul. So, geographically, for them to perform in India does work out. Dubai is a popular city to perform in because the infrastructure and revenue are both viable. “Indians would rather watch Coldplay in Dubai or Singapore. So, we need to learn how to be experience-driven,” says Delhi-based saxophone player Abhay Sharma, who tours the world with music composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. 

The Indian concert industry is still far behind countries like Thailand, Korea, and Singapore, says Anup Kutty from the organising team of the annual Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal Pradesh’s Ziro Valley. “Our venues are small clubs or stadiums, which aren’t equipped to handle heavy footfalls.” Singapore has perhaps done one better: in 2024, the government facilitated a deal where Taylor Swift wouldn’t perform anywhere else in South East Asia, enabling multiple shows in the country. Swift performed six shows, all of which were sold out. 

The hurdles in India are still aplenty. Lakhs of rupees get spent on bribes, even if one has the required licences and documents in place. If music festivals get cancelled, local indie artists usually don’t get paid. “There’s no regulation or paperwork at any stage for the entertainment industry because India, in general, has cheap labour,” says Mumbai-based bassist Danik Ghosh, who, while touring with rapper King in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, saw locals working with the band stick to their working hours, getting paid for the extra hours they put in and signing a contract. These protocols, however, are largely absent in India.

Opening acts as stepping stones 

Even though international acts performing in India legitimises local players, there’s no popularity or income for the latter. “It’s mostly the commercial scene that’s benefitting. Big acts want to sell tickets for ₹50,000. But when the same artists tour Europe or the US, they have a mix of large-scale and smaller shows,” says Arjun Sagar Gupta, owner of the The Piano Man in Delhi-NCR, whose three outposts have been host to international jazz artists for the last nine years, via festivals like the ongoing Giants of Music. 

While opening for big acts doesn’t always translate to more money, it does increase the artists’ chances of gaining popularity or eventually landing a global gig. Playing an unpopular slot can be turned into a win. Bloodywood, for example, started out playing afternoon slots on main stages, until 2022, when, at Japan’s Fuji Rock, 2,000 people were waiting for their set. Today, they are set to tour Europe and the UK for 40 days, besides playing in three cities across Japan and releasing their second album. “The difference between 2019 and 2024 is that back then we had to prove we belonged on the biggest stages of the world. Today, it's about proving how far we can go,” signs off the band’s vocalist Raoul Kerr.

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