Spotlights blazed, phones lit up the sky, and the roar of 40,000 fans matched the bassline as the legend himself, AR Rahman, took the stage in Mumbai a week ago. After Coldplay, Green Day, Maroon 5, Bryan Adams, as Guns N’ Roses prepare to bring their anthemic rock to Indian soil, the stage is set for an encore of epic proportions. Welcome to India’s concert economy — part spectacle, part goldmine, and now, an increasingly powerful marketing playground.
Branding in a New Arena
Live concerts no longer just feature fireworks and artist performances—they also set the stage for endless brand activations that engage and amuse fans. These aren’t passive logo placements, but immersive moments woven into the fabric of the concert itself. Live concerts have evolved into powerful cultural touchpoints for authentic brand connections.
In comparison to traditional advertising mediums, concerts allow brands to interact with Gen Z and Millennial audiences. Vineet Sharma, Vice President – Marketing & Trade Marketing, AB InBev India, explains the value proposition, “The key distinction compared to traditional channels is depth over breadth — concerts offer immersive engagement with emotionally receptive audiences rather than just wide reach. Concert partnerships deliver both immediate impact and long-term brand building.” He adds how success is no longer measured in impressions alone, “Beyond traditional metrics, we measure success through cultural relevance, social amplification, and emotional connection.”
That emotional depth is exactly what brands are chasing in the new age of experiential marketing. Amaresh Godbole, CEO – Digital Technology Business, Publicis Groupe India, echoes this shift claiming that the current generation is not a collector of objects but experiences. Speaking about the opportunity for marketing in the concert experience, he says, ”Forward-looking brands have woken up to the economic boom of concert ecosystem and realised that it’s a massive opportunity and one that is here to stay.” Painting a vivid picture of what concerts look like today, Godbole says, “Concerts used to be the domain of alcoholic beverage brands. Today, walk through a festival like Lollapalooza, and one can witness the mainstage being branded with auto brands targeting the youth. Tech, fashion, and beauty brands are creating in-festival experiences such as lounges and on-the-spot personalisation.”
Rammohan Sundaram, President – Integrated Media, DDB Mudra Group, highlights how technology is transforming brand presence at concerts, “With the advent of mobile and CTV penetration, integrations are now not limited to just on ground exercises where the event is happening, it can get massively amplified through both mobile and CTV where the reach is much larger than just a few thousands on the ground. So the opportunities are vast and wide. As a result percentage spends on concerts across mediums have increased by about 5-6%.”
Ritu Trivedi, Vice-President, Lodestar UM, adds, “Brands / Advertisers have started taking notice of the event economy with increasing popularity of ground events like Comicon, Nykaaland and the likes of NH7weekender etc which are flocked by the youth, it is increasingly becoming a place for brands to woo the youth.”
Not surprisingly, even traditionally conservative sectors are loosening their ties. Harikrishnan Pillai, CEO and Co-Founder, TheSmallBigIdea, notes, “Banks, credit card companies, and digital payment platforms (UPI, wallets) are increasingly visible, offering exclusive deals, payment solutions, and branded experiences. For instance, a credit card might offer exclusive entry lanes or discounts on merchandise.” Clearly, even financial institutions are chasing emotional equity now.
Rahul Talwar, CMO, Axis Max Life Insurance, puts it in perspective but emphasises on the strategic pause before jumping in. He says, “As for whether experiential makes sense for Axis Max Life Insurance—the answer is a definite yes. The question now is whether we will expand our experiential playbook to include new elements like live concerts. That’s still under strategic evaluation. Ultimately, it comes down to aligning experiential initiatives with the brand’s identity and the audience we aim to engage.”
Marketing Meets Experience
It’s not just more brands — it’s more types of brands that are showing up. While cool kids are jumping in, brands are ready with their communication eager to take advantage of the growing impact of musical events.
As Ruchira Jaitley, CMO, Diageo India, whose brand partnered with largescale events like Dua Lipa, Korlova, Prateek Kuhad and Zomaland, puts it, “We are seeing a much broader and more diverse set of industry categories stepping into the concert and live event arena—moving far beyond the traditional beverage or fashion brands. From fintech startups to health & wellness, auto to tech, everyone is looking at concerts as high-impact cultural moments where they can tap into a hyper-engaged, emotionally invested audience.”
But how do brands cut through the noise at events where the main attraction is the music? Sharma explains how Ab InBev did it with Corona at Lollapalooza India, “We focus on creating innovative and immersive experiences that enhance the audience’s overall enjoyment.” And the toolkit? “The Golden Canvas DIY Station, Golden Memories Photobooth, Corona Sun-soaked Stories Podcast booth and the Corona Ferris Wheel provided unique, shareable moments that resonated with attendees.”
These weren’t just gimmicks—they were memory-makers.
At the Diljit Dosanjh Dil-Luminati Tour, brands didn’t just sponsor the event—they became part of the performance. The most unforgettable example? Lemonn, the investment app, sent a giant dancing lemon mascot on stage during Diljit’s ‘Lemonade’ track. It was a blend of humour, wit and word play at its best. Other brands that participated in the tour included Mokobara, which showcased its luggage on stage, Jeevansathi.com that handed out branded water-bottles with witty one-liners on relationships and more.
Meanwhile at Lollapalooza India, H&M amplified its affiliation with a literal Megaphone. They set up a megaphone shaped runway for fans to strut their style, and provided experiences like high-octane karaoke sessions, and more. They featured three distinct spaces—H&M Backstage, H&M Styleverse, and H&M Deck—each delivering unique aesthetics and unparalleled vibes.
And Diageo, always a heavyweight in this space, wasn’t holding back either. Sharing one of their standout moments, Jaitley says, “At Lollapalooza, we curated a multi-sensory immersive space with Johnnie Walker Refreshing Mixer that transcended traditional branding. Consumers were invited into an experience that encouraged participation, dialogue, and discovery — leaving a lasting impression long after the music ended.” At Zomaland, they went a step further. “Black & White Ginger Ale introduced the ‘Kitchen Rave’—blending DJ sets with live cooking shows.”
Reflecting on the evolution of this space, Rammohan recalls, “Music concerts always had enough and more audiences but it was limited to cities like Mumbai and Bangalore. DNA were the first ones to bring in international audiences and in the early 2000s there were no restriction on alchobev category which meant that most of these concerts were being sponsored by brands from those categories and were followed up by the Cola brands.”
Very interestingly back then, while advertising at concerts spirit and liquor brands would openly use terms like ‘alcohol partner’ and ‘beer partner’, today there is a shift, and they are compelled to use subtler references like ‘beverage partner’ on ground, even though the sale of alcohol continues at these events, through well placed stalls.
The New Consumer Frontier
According to BookMyShow’s Throwback 2024 report, India hosted 30,687 live events across 319 cities — an 18% increase from the previous year. From Ed Sheeran’s record-breaking tour to the unforgettable Lollapalooza in Mumbai, India has firmly secured its place on the world’s live entertainment map. Once a luxury meant for a select few, concerts now attract experience-hungry audiences from all walks of life — and with it, brands too.
Behind these big blown tours of India was Zomato’s Live Event platform, District. Speaking about the growing demand of concerts across the nation, a District by Zomato Spokesperson states, “Traditionally, concert audiences were predominantly urban and demographically limited. Today, the audience is more inclusive, encompassing people from diverse backgrounds, age groups, and geographic locations.”
Rammohan attributes this shift to broader cultural and generational changes, “Once India’s population shifted from boomers to Gen Z, the music took CenterStage and ticket sales took off in a big way, which wasn’t the case previously, tickets were subsidised and sponsorships used to cover 75% of the cost of the concert, which has reversed in recent years.” Additionally, he says, “India now has a lot more disposable income and the current generation, where we have 650 million people below the age of 30, don’t care much about savings and live in the day because their parents have ensured their security for the future, which is a big advantage, and was not the case in the early 2000s. That is one prime reason why people travel from all over the country for shows in different cities without worrying about costs.”
And Tier 2 cities? They’re no longer the underdogs. According to a report by CredAble, cities like Kanpur, Shillong, Gandhinagar saw a 682% growth in live events. Even the government is tuning in. After the Coldplay concert, PM Modi urged more investment into India’s live concert economy.
Economic Crescendo
The concert economy hit its highest ever note yet, during the Coldplay concert where India witnessed a `641 crore juggernaut in Ahmedabad. The event gathered a record-breaking attendance of over 1.34 lakh people, providing the government a revenue of approximately `72 crore in just GST, media reports in Gujarat stated.
According to estimates from Bank of Baroda’s ‘A ‘concert’-ed push for the economy’, the annualised figure for expenditure on India’s concert economy stands at `6,000 to `8,000 crores.
Rammohan elaborating on the far-reaching impact beyond media, states, “Concert economy covers a range of items – hotels, food, airline travel, other modes of travel, local shopping and more, which is a much larger contributor to the concert economy as compared to just the media spends side of it which might be just about 10% of the `6000 crores.”
The EY-Parthenon report on Coldplay’s concert cited a total economic impact of `641 crore with `392 crore directly benefitting Ahmedabad’s economy. Hotel occupancy hit 100%, room rates spiked, and travel surged. An overwhelming 86% of attendees came from outside the city, representing over 500 cities.
Drivers of Growth
So, what has caused this boom? The surge can be attributed to rising disposable incomes, rapid digital adoption, and a cultural shift toward ‘experience over possession.’
Anil Makhija, COO - Live Entertainment and Venues, BookMyShow Live, shares, “India’s live entertainment ecosystem is a dynamic space, brimming with opportunity in terms of expansion both by way of format and scale, with a parallel increase in consumption demand and spending capacity towards such experiences.”
Post-pandemic behavioural shifts also play a role. The younger demographic — 52% of India’s population — transitioned from need-based to experience-based expenditure. According to an EY-FICCI report, the live events industry (including live sports and concerts) that stood at `83 Bn pre-COVID, grew to `101 Bn in 2024 and is projected to reach `167 Bn by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 18.2%.
Sanjay Ahire, Executive Director, Percept Live, credits social media and homegrown artists for this rise. “Over 600M internet users fuel viral music discovery. What’s hot on Reels becomes demand at the gate.”
Looking ahead, Rammohan adds, “Every brand which is looking at the Gen Z audience will jump on this bandwagon, it has massive opportunities going forward.”
The Roadblocks
India’s concert economy is rapidly evolving, but not without challenges. Inadequate infrastructure, particularly in Tier 2 and 3 cities, remains a concern. Zomato points to the most basic problem, infrastructure. “Organizers often have to repurpose sports arenas or open spaces not optimized for live performances,” explains a Zomato District spokesperson.
Sabbas Joseph, Co-Founder & Director, Wizcraft, asserts on the need for multipurpose venues and local government support. Brands and promoters also wrestle with unpredictability and cultural expectations. “Licences and permissions are kept in abeyance or not issued while the demand for free tickets keeps rising,” he says.
Transport conditions after concerts also add to the attendee’s woes. Jerin Venad, Co-Founder, Cityflo, says, “Post-concert congestion is a known pain point. It’s not unusual for attendees to spend over 45 minutes just trying to find a ride home.”
Pricing too has become a barrier. “Indian audiences now sometimes pay almost at par with international audiences for top gigs,” note Manish Porwal, MD, Alchemist Group and Prabhu Tony, CEO, Alchemist Live. “They pay higher when weighted over PPP (purchase price parity),” they add.
The Road Ahead
Despite the hurdles, India’s concert economy is tuning up for a grander performance. Stakeholders — from private event organisers to government bodies — are beginning to take notice of the infrastructure and policy gaps holding the sector back.
Industry insiders are calling for purpose-built venues that can handle high-capacity events with international standards in sound, safety, and crowd management. Some state governments have already initiated discussions around developing dedicated ‘entertainment zones’ in urban hubs, signalling a policy shift that matches the cultural momentum.
Technology, too, is stepping in to solve pain points. Mobility startups are experimenting with post-event ride pooling and shuttle solutions. Event-specific micro-payments and on-site personalisation are getting increasingly seamless, driven by UPI and wallet integrations.
“While the buzz around live events is undeniable, the current market slowdown is prompting brands to be more cautious,” alerts Trivedi. She also adds, “Until clear pathways to ROI emerge—such as direct product sales or measurable business impact—many brands may hesitate. High sponsorship fees without tangible returns will attract only a few willing players.”
India’s concert economy is no longer just a spectacle but a serious economic engine — and increasingly, a core marketing strategy. At this point, India is not only a pitstop in global tours of international artists but the new hub for large-scale branded live events. So, the next time you book your tickets and look up in awe at the mobile-lit sky full of stars, vibing to your favourite artist — rest assured, some of the world’s biggest brands are vibing right there with you.
