IT'S SHOWTIME!

The Coldplay mania shows the power of live entertainment and its immense business opportunity

- K. SUNIL THOMAS

It was supposed to be an ‘adventure of a lifetime’ for Deepali Taneja. The academician from Delhi and her friends had made meticulous plans to buy tickets to the much-anticipated live concert by the British rock band Coldplay. “My friends and I had logged in much before 12 noon, the time when the tickets went live, and we were in contact with each other in real time,” she said.

The day, however, spiralled down into chaos, as Taneja, along with around 1.3 crore fans, got into a ‘digital stampede’ while trying to get their hands on the 1.65 lakh tickets on offer. It first led to the ticketing site BookMyShow crashing, before many found themselves in queues running into some 10 lakh people. “I kept trying between my phone and laptop, but to no avail,” said Deepali. “Now, more than the feeling of disappointment, I feel a sense of being scammed. Despite my best efforts, I missed the opportunity!”

Even adding a third concert (they were supposed to do only two) did not help, as tickets, ranging from 02,500 to 035,000 were snapped up within minutes. Worse, many landed up on international ticketing sites or in the black market that charge multiple times the original price. While BookMyShow spoke of “issues from suspicious and malicious traffic,” former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said the tickets landing up in the black market “posed a serious challenge to governance”.

What the fiasco also proved was the coming of age of India’s live entertainment and ticketing sector. “India has emerged as a highly attractive and compelling destination for both domestic and international acts, with the burgeoning appetite for live entertainment events in the country,” said Owen Roncon, chief operating officer (live events) of BookMyShow, the organiser of the Coldplay event and many other high-profile live events.