Sold out in minutes, resold for millions: Coldplay tickets spark outrage in India

If you were successful India and had 900,000 rupees ($10,800; £8,000), what would you buy? A car? A travel astir the world? Diamond jewellery? Or a Coldplay performance ticket?

The British stone set is acceptable to execute 3 shows of their Music of the Spheres satellite circuit successful Mumbai adjacent twelvemonth and the tickets are being sold for obscene amounts connected reselling platforms, aft being sold retired successful minutes connected BookMyShow (BMS) - the concert's authoritative ticketing platform.

The tickets went connected merchantability past Sunday and were priced from 2,500 rupees to 12,000 rupees. More than 10 cardinal radical competed to bargain immoderate 180,000 tickets.

Fans complained astir hours-long integer queues and tract crashes, but galore besides alleged that the income were rigged arsenic resellers had begun selling tickets for 5 times the terms - touching adjacent 900,000 rupees - earlier they were released connected the authoritative site.

Earlier this month, thing akin happened with tickets for Oasis' performance successful the UK, wherever resellers charged much than £350 for tickets that outgo £135. But adjacent then, the inflated prices of Coldplay tickets basal out. To enactment this successful perspective, Madonna charged £1,306.75 for VIP passes to her Celebration circuit and the champion tickets for Beyoncé's Renaissance concerts sold for £2,400.

The events person sparked a speech astir summons scalping successful India, wherever radical usage bots oregon automation tools to bypass queues and acquisition aggregate tickets to merchantability connected reselling platforms. Fans are questioning whether the authoritative tract had taken capable steps to forestall this, oregon whether it chose to look the different way.

BMS has denied immoderate relation with resellers and urged fans to debar tickets from "unauthorised sources" arsenic they could beryllium fake, but this hasn't stopped radical from viewing the tract suspiciously.

Fans person complained astir having a akin acquisition portion buying tickets for Punjabi vocalist Diljit Dosanjh's upcoming concerts. Tickets were released connected Zomato Live, the performance promoter, earlier this period and aft getting sold out, they began popping up connected reselling platforms for respective times the archetypal price.

Ticket scalping is amerciable successful India, and experts accidental that portion it's imaginable that it's happening anyway, it's besides apt that morganatic ticket-holders are selling theirs done resellers to marque a nett owed to the monolithic demand.

Graphic decorator Dwayne Dias was among the fewer fortunate ones who managed to bargain tickets for the Coldplay performance from the authoritative site. He bought 4 tickets for 6,450 rupees each.

Since then, he's been approached by radical who are consenting to wage up to 60,000 rupees for a ticket. "If I wanted to, I could merchantability each the tickets and ticker the performance successful South Korea [Coldplay's upcoming touring destination]. The magnitude volition screen my question expenses and I'll beryllium capable to acquisition a caller city," helium says.

While the inflated prices of Coldplay tickets are shocking, the immense request for tickets to spot fashionable planetary artists execute is not uncommon. In fact, the unrecorded euphony concern successful India has been increasing successful leaps and bounds implicit the past mates of years.

According to a report, euphony concerts generated astir 8,000m rupees successful gross past twelvemonth and by 2025, this fig is acceptable to summation by 25%. Brian Tellis, a seasoned successful the euphony concern and 1 of the founders of the Mahindra Blues euphony festival, says concerts person go a portion of an individual's - and the country's - taste currency.

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Chart-toppers similar Ed Sheeran, Alan Walker and Dua Lipa person performed successful India successful the caller past, and the second 2 are acceptable to execute again this year. "Like for different industries, India is simply a booming marketplace for the euphony concern arsenic well. There's a immense demographic that's young and has wealth to spend. Everyone wants a portion of the pie," helium says.

The soaring request is evident successful summons prices and sales. Tellis says astir a decennary ago, 80% of accumulation costs were footed by sponsors and 20% done summons sales, but the numbers person reversed today.

"Attending a performance is simply a premix of bragging rights, being a conformist and being portion of the scene," helium says. "There are existent euphony lovers arsenic good successful the mix, but galore be due to the fact that they get swept up by the hype surrounding a show and they don't privation to consciousness near out."

Days earlier and aft Coldplay performance tickets went connected sale, societal media was afloat of captivating Instagram reels of the set performing hits similar Adventure of a Lifetime and Fix You in packed stadiums, with fans singing on and turning the venue into A Sky Full of Stars with their LED bracelets. Influencers waxed eloquent astir their emotion for the set and determination was nary dearth of Coldplay memes.

Industry sources told the BBC that targeted selling plays a cardinal relation successful summons income - a task handled by the promoter's website. The much request is created, the much summons prices tin beryllium raised. Organising concerts is tough, arsenic they often incur losses, truthful erstwhile the accidental arises, bankable performers are exploited for profits.

While immoderate fans reason that the authorities should instrumentality steps to power summons prices, Tellis doesn't agree. "This [selling tickets] is entrepreneurship - it won't beryllium close for the authorities to get involved. Because if you privation to power revenue, past you'll person to besides power costs," helium says.

Despite the upward trajectory of India's unrecorded euphony business, experts accidental the state inactive has a agelong mode to spell earlier it tin beryllium connected a par with the planetary euphony scene.

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"We person precise fewer performance venues and they are not up to planetary standards," Tellis says. "That's wherefore artists execute less shows successful India contempt the monolithic demand."

Dias and his friends precocious travelled to Singapore to be a Coldplay concert. He says the ticket-booking acquisition was smooth, the venue was top-class and the assemblage was well-managed.

He's not definite he'll person the aforesaid acquisition astatine DY Patil stadium - the venue for the band's concerts successful India. "For one, it's overmuch smaller and crowds successful India tin beryllium rather indisciplined," helium says. He's besides disquieted astir however harmless the venue volition beryllium and whether the assemblage volition beryllium managed decently astatine introduction and exit points.

But for now, he's holding connected to his tickets and is prepared to endure immoderate lies ahead, conscionable to get a accidental to ticker Chris Martin and institution execute again.