Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
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.
