Western artists have overlooked India’s live music scene for years. Now, they’re finally catching on

It’s a great time to be a music fan in India, experts tell Peony Hirwani as pop stars from Post Malone to Imagine Dragons sell out shows around the country

(Getty/The Independent)

India’s live music industry is thriving, and it’s about time. After years of being snubbed by western pop acts, the country is experiencing a pivotal, post-pandemic boom, with fans flocking in their droves to witness international acts make their India debuts.

In the last two years alone, visits from Post Malone, Imagine Dragons, Rema and even the Backstreet Boys have energised India’s live music scene, with Indian promoters scrambling to stay on top of this sudden increase in demand.

And after the lull brought about by social distancing, Indian music enthusiasts are now experiencing – with renewed vigour – the thrill of jam-packed venues and mosh pits more than ever before.

Further change is still needed. Megastars such as Taylor Swift and Beyonce enjoy a massive following in India, but the country’s Swifties are yet to see the sequinned sparkle of an Eras show, while the Indian Bey Hive is still awaiting the bombastic disco-influenced pop of Beyonce’s Renaissance tour.

“There were so many moments when artists like Post Malone, Travis Scott, Billie Eilish, and Drake released terrific albums followed by tours, but didn’t consider India as a stop, despite their tracks ranking on our local charts,” Shivani Maheshwari, a music fan from Noida, tells The Independent.

But with the increase in appetite for live music and some very promising numbers, things seem to be quickly changing for the better.

According to an end-of-year report from BookMyShow – India’s biggest ticketing platform – about “eight million entertainment enthusiasts stepped out for live entertainment from across 19,000 plus events in 2022”. More than half a million of these attended concerts by themselves, suggesting a decreasing stigma towards solo gig-goers.

Owen Roncon, head of live music for BookMyShow, tells The Independent that he has witnessed an increase in demand on the platform over the last five to seven years.

Post Malone’s India debut at the Feeding India Concert last year, for instance, saw over 20,000 people attending, while the multi-genre Lollapalooza India event in January saw more than 60,000 people in attendance over two days.

“India’s live entertainment ecosystem is a dynamic space, brimming with opportunity in terms of expansion by format and at scale,” says Roncon. “So, with a parallel increase in consumption demand and spending capacity towards such experiences, we’ve spotted a huge increase in demand for live shows.”

“Given how far this country has come in making its mark as a powerhouse market for music internationally and domestically, it’s no surprise that there has been a noticeable rise in international acts being programmed,” Aaryaman Trivedi, assistant manager of creativity and content at Rolling Stone India, tells The Independent.

“I noticed this first-hand when I got to see [American rapper] JID perform live at the NH7 Weekender, arguably the most popular large-scale festival that is uniquely Indian, in 2022.”

Imagine Dragons at Lollapalooza India (Lollapalooza India)

The NH7 Weekender has a robust history of introducing international acts to Indian audiences, while within that same season (December 2022 to March 2023), events such as VH1 Supersonic, Magnetic Fields Festival and, of course, Lollapalooza, all boasted major names as headliners.

So what’s actually driving the country’s live music boom? Experts credit a number of factors, from the development of purpose-built music venues to the demand generated by streaming from fans who want to see their favourite artists live. According to Billboard, India remains the single market that has contributed the most to Spotify’s global growth over the last year.

“[Streaming activity] makes India an extremely important and lucrative market for live entertainment and music and is thus becoming a focus region for international artists and performers as they sharpen their performances and game to cater to large swathes of young and growing fans here,” Roncon observes.

He also highlights how music fans are discovering newer artists directly through streaming, meaning they will likely jump at any opportunity to see them play live for the first time.

This was evident during the successful launch of India’s first-ever Lollapalooza festival in January this year, with a lineup comprising both local and international acts, including AP Dhillon, Cigarettes After Sex, Divine, the F16s, Jackson Wang, Imanbek, Greta Van Fleet, The Wombats, and Diplo.

“Our first ever show in India was also Lollapalooza’s first festival in Mumbai, and we were so happy to finally play there,” Wombats drummer Dan Haggis tells The Independent.

“The festival was amazingly well organised, the crowd were so good, there were people there with Indian flags with The Wombats written on it... it was such a lovely welcome. The food we ate, people we met and sights we saw were the highlight of the trip though, one I sincerely hope we get to do again soon!”

Roncon says 23 per cent of the total registrations for Lollapalooza India had come to the platform for the first time, igniting consumer interest to engage and experience the best of international and homegrown music.

He points to India’s “ever-evolving infrastructure for concerts and festivals” as another factor in the growing live sector. In recent years, the country has become home to venues including Mumbai’s Jio World Garden and the NSCI Dome, the former which hosted the Backstreet Boys during their DNA World Tour, in their first visit to India in 13 years.

The Backstreet Boys perform on their DNA World Tour in Mumbai (BookMyShow)

“Indian festival goers have emerged hungry for live entertainment,” Trivedi tells The Independent. “And the industry provided what they wanted – the combination of sponsorship revenue and ticket sales has worked wonders for booking agents, promoters, festival organisers and artist managers.”

According to Roncon, live music popularity has been the fastest-growing category contributing to 25 per cent of BookMyShow’s revenue, and 15 per cent of total ticket sales since the waning of the pandemic.

The head of live music at India’s leading entertainment platform said that “the number of music events hosted and number of tickets sold for music shows have already touched 80 per cent of the 2022 music events roster, within less than six months of 2023 on BookMyShow”.

Diplo performs at Lollapalooza India in Mumbai (Lollapalooza India)

Roncon says the pandemic has definitely “triggered certain sensory patterns with Indians” like in most global markets, “seeking more connection and community experiences, causing us to want to come out and enjoy life more substantially”.

This is certainly true with live entertainment and specifically the country’s live music scene.

Aniket Rajgarhia, senior manager at music rights management company Outdustry, tells The Independent that it’s a great time to be a music fan in India.

In the coming months, India will see the return of 50 Cent, who is scheduled to perform in the country after 15 years. Meanwhile, an industry insider tells The Independent that fellow rapper J Cole, along with artists signed to his label Dreamville Records, are preparing to make their India debut this autumn.

Maheshwari notes that, given NH7 and Vh1 tickets typically begin selling before all the headliners have been announced, fans (himself included) need to be on the ball.

“This year, I’m definitely buying tickets for cheap as soon as they’re announced,” he says. “I now have trust and faith that the industry heads won’t let us down when it comes to the main acts.”