Not just noise: How live concerts became serious business in India

From metros to music corridors

According to data from BookMyShow, there were over 34,000 live entertainment events across the country in 2025, a 17% growth over the previous year with over 5,00,000 fans travelling to different cities for concerts. As per industry reports presented at the WAVES Summit last year, the live events industry was at `20,800 crore in 2025, and is expected to double by 2030. Sponsorship and brand integrations contribute nearly 35-40% of the total event revenue.

The watershed moment came last year when British band Coldplay performed in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, with the total number of attendees exceeding 400,000 across five shows. India’s massive digital ecosystem has helped amplify that appetite. Industry estimates indicate the Ahmedabad shows alone generated an estimated `641 crore in economic impact across hospitality, transport, retail and tourism.

Sandeep Ranade, executive vice- president and head of Quantitative Research Division at Hansa Research, says, “The addressable market for concerts has expanded, with a huge turnout for concerts in tier-II and III markets, going well beyond metros,” says Ranade.

Rahul Ganjoo, CEO of District by Zomato, agrees. What is particularly notable isn’t just the numbers, but a fundamental shift in how audiences relate to concerts, he says. “They’ve transitioned from being sporadic leisure activities to intentional cultural moments that people build their social calendars around,”
he says.

District is tapping into this growing opportunity by helping audiences navigate the growing entertainment landscape, surfacing not just the headliner performers but also introducing them to new artistes, formats and experiences they may not be able to discover on their own.

Brands hit the stage

The booming Indian concert economy has also changed the approach brands adopt for live entertainment in their effort to reach young audiences. Naman Pugalia, chief business officer for live events at BookMyShow, says instead of taking the traditional sponsorship route, the platform seeks partnerships that allow brands to integrate seamlessly with events. BookMyShow, which hosted the fourth edition of music festival Lollapalooza last week, roped in a diverse roster of brands like H&M and Nivea, among others.

Zomato’s District, which held the first Indian hip-hop festival last year, Rolling Loud, forged brand partnerships that solved problems and enhanced the fan experience. “For example, MakeMyTrip streamlined the entire journey by embedding accommodation and transport booking within ticket purchasing. Sprite, Liquid IV, and Thums Up introduced interactive sports zones, and Red Bull staged live competitive dance battles,” says Ganjoo.

Hansa Research’s Ranade points out that for brands in categories like beverages, fintech and smartphones, ad spends for live concerts are still a single digit share of the total media budget but their spending has been growing in recent years.

Brands like Sula Vineyards have been curating music and culture-led events for several years now. Monit Dhavale, head of hospitality, Sula Vineyards says that for its 15th edition this year, the brand is focussing on formats that are different from major urban concerts. “We don’t see these as one-off spends, but as long-term brand investments,” he says, but doesn’t share numbers.

Despite the promise, there are still some significant challenges that need to be addressed before India reaches the sophistication at world-class venues in markets like the US and Singapore. But industry observers are optimistic. “Challenges are mainly because of infrastructure limitations, rules around public performances and local body permits. But we expect the government to address these soon, unlocking greater growth for the whole events industry,” says Aashiq Bava, founder & CEO, Saina Music Indie.