Coldplay Concert Frenzy in India

As many as 1.3 crore (13 M) people logged in to BookMyShow’s website and app to buy tickets for British rock band Coldplay's upcoming 2025 concerts in Mumbai while just 1.5 lakh (150k) tickets were up for sale. All the tickets sold out within just 30 minutes.

With so many left out, reseller sites began offering tickets at massively inflated prices. BookMyShow priced tickets between Rs 2,000 and Rs 35,000, but soon after, resale platforms like Viagogo were listing them for as much as Rs 10 lakh. A Rs 12,500 ticket was being sold for over Rs 3.36 lakh on these platforms, with standing tickets, originally priced at Rs 6,450, being resold for up to Rs 50,000.

The frenzy for Coldplay tickets shows India's strengthening consumption story even as disposable incomes rise, the number of rich grows at a fast pace, the size of the middle class increases and a trend of premium consumption sweeps across sectors. Not just the class that clamours for Coldplay tickets, even those at the bottom of the pyramid are showing different consumption trends.

Why this Frenzy for not so popular a brand?

The number of Indian households with an annual income of more than Rs 30 lakh ($35k) per annum will increase by 11.3 crores (113M) by the financial year 2031, according to a recent report by U Grow Capital. The report also highlights that the number of middle-class households having income between Rs 5 lakh ($6k) to Rs 10 lakh ($12k) annually will also increase by 28.3 crore by 2031.

As per 'World Wealth Report 2024' by The Capgemini Research Institute, high net-worth individuals (HNIs) in India increased by 12.2% year-on-year in 2023 riding on a robust economy and the performance of the domestic equity markets, taking the HNI tally to 35.89 lakh. India’s market capitalisation increased by 29% in 2023, registering a multifold jump over 2022 when the M-cap surged by only 6%.