Oct 28, 2026 4:52pm IST
Variety India Asks Burning Questions About India’s Concert Scene, From Shortened Sets to Alcohol Permits
India’s concert scene is burgeoning. International live music events like Lollapalooza, Rolling Loud, and more lately, HYBE’s Weverse Con in India have revived the indie and popular music scene. Additionally, several Indian artists have announced cross-country tours. However, a slew of cancelled permits, such as the now-sanctioned Diljit Dosanjh’s Delhi concert and debacles like the one at the Bollywood Music Project in Mumbai, have raised some burning questions in the minds of concertgoers about the future of live music entertainment in India.
How do organisers ensure bulk buyers don’t scalp tickets and charge inflated prices?
The booking situation for Indian concerts hasn’t really been a smooth process, with issues like dynamic pricing and bulk buying raining on enthusiastic concertgoers’ parade. Take, for example, the Coldplay concert booking scenario, where secondary websites marshalled resources to purchase tickets in bulk and then sell them at exorbitant prices. The audience uproar led to a conversation about potential safeguards that would curb this practice. However, with the recently announced Weverse Con in Delhi, tickets priced at ₹2.5k to ₹14k have been reportedly scalped at prices four times higher, from ₹11k for General Access to around ₹42k for VIP.
Organisers need to work with ticket booking platforms to ensure policies and safeguards are in place to ensure patrons are not scalped.
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What are the contingencies for when an artist's performance overshoots in a lineup?
What happened with National Award-winning singer Shilpa Rao at the Bollywood Music Project was disgraceful, badly handled and embarrassing, and should never happen again. It was not only insulting to her but also to the other artist, Kutle Khan, whose set was cut short too and who, as per his official statement on Instagram, was asked to continue performing over Shilpa’s speech to the audience.
When a concert has a lineup of multiple artists and a timely schedule, the whole system needs to work in synchronicity to ensure audiences aren’t cheated and get what they’ve paid for. As for the artists, it is usually the smaller, indie artists who have to cut their sets short to make room for the headliners, which is not fair to them or to their audiences. Live concerts can have mishaps and glitches, but there must be a contingency plan in place in the event of such delays.
What happens in the event of changes to the food and beverages situation?
At the Bollywood Music Project, amidst the delays, there was another dampener. The event couldn’t secure permits to serve alcohol. However, even though a message was sent to patrons on the morning of the event about this change, it remained a massive disappointment for those who had expected it.
Over the years, there have been several instances of concert venues running out of purchasable food, beverages or water, leaving patrons stranded with money in their wristbands or payment cards but nothing to spend it on. On other occasions, jammed network issues can cause delays in money being credited into wallets, with many patrons spending considerable time trying to fix this issue with the organisers rather than enjoying the concert they came to attend.
While some concerts do offer free water refills and have instituted policies that refund any unused money in wristbands back to patrons’ accounts, there needs to be a uniform policy to ensure enjoyment at concerts is a smoother process.
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Why does accessibility remain the most tedious facet of concerts in India?
What does one expect to overhear from a crowd leaving a concert venue? That the show was fantastic? Or that they had the time of their life? But crowds exiting most concert venues are often heard complaining about accessibility issues, whether it is an excruciatingly long walk to the exits or the tedious, often frustrating process of commuting home.
Even when concert venues aren’t too remote, the struggle remains the same with inflated ride fares, last-minute cancellations and more. Adding fuel to this fire are cellular network issues that disrupt everything, from booking cab rides to topping up wristbands for food and beverages and contacting any friends you might lose in the crowd.
While some concerts have managed to arrange for shuttles that ferry concertgoers from the venue to the nearest bus/taxi/auto stands, this must become a norm, not just for VIP ticket holders who have access to pick-and-drop services and parking facilities near the venue, but for everyone who purchases a ticket.
Are concertgoers truly getting a bang for their buck with Indian concert venues?
The Coldplay concert tour in India offered two important lessons. One, Indians have an appetite for concerts and are willing to pay for the ultimate experience. And two, if they feel that they won’t get that premium experience in India, no matter how reasonably priced the tickets might be, they’re willing to travel abroad for it. It has given rise to a new trend, labelled concert tourism, where a trip’s destination and itinerary are built around a concert that they want to attend because the artist might not be touring in their home country or the experience at home might not be as good.
As the number of local and global concerts in India rises, there is a need for better infrastructure, larger venues and top-notch sound setups and acoustics that can help India become an undeniable stop for every major international artist on a global tour.
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