By Siddhi Nawar
They believe in ‘living in the moment’ and hence they look for a moment which is worth a reel on Instagram and a short on YouTube. From weekends to holidays, they plan their calendar well and never miss an opportunity to make each moment count.
The loud and vibrant GenZ often moves on western bands and hence chasing for the tickets of Coldplay concert happening in Mumbai. Many of them have either saved, borrowed via personal loans or earned it through side hustles, as they don’t want to miss flashing their broad smile on the background of Coldplay while it’s happening. Bank of Baroda economy team has predicted that the whole concert will make Rs. 2000 crore consumption in India.
Many banks are running special schemes on their credit cards to buy the tickets for such concerts. Coldplay is about a sentiment and sensation for GenZ.
“I have grown up with Coldplay and don’t want to miss an opportunity to be part of the live show. It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure,” said a 21-year-old from Mumbai. This sentiment seems to depict the mindset of many in Gen Z, the word which represents the generation Z which was born after 1997.
Coldplay is a British band holding its first ever concert at DY Patil Stadium. The popularity of the show is such that its tickets sold out within minutes as soon as they went up on BookMyShow.
“I had logged in well in advance and managed and luckily got the ticket for myself at Rs. 3500,” said a 22 year old. While she was lucky, many others couldn’t get the tickets, because prices shot up and tickets were sold. Concert tickets today range from 2,500 to 35,000 rupees and higher.
How did GenZ buy tickets
We at ETBFSI spoke to a few of the youngsters to understand how they sponsored their tickets for Coldplay and also other concerts like Diljit Dosanjh, what we observed is that they have planned their budget to attend such concerts.
“I either had to make prior savings to buy tickets for the concerts, or I had to cut down my upcoming expenses after buying the tickets. It was an unusually high expenditure for my budget,” said a 23-year-old with a steady income.
Another youngster said he was also doing side hustles whilst studying at college, such as social media marketing for a few people, which helped him arrange his finances.
Banks and various financial institutions are also trying their best to finance the various concerts. Private sector banks like Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, and Yes Bank and also a foreign bank HSBC, have partnered with artists for live shows to tap into the young consumer base. They offer specialized entertainment-themed credit cards, designed for such purposes. For example, Yes Bank’s Pop Club Credit Card partnered with Karan Aujla’s ‘It Was All A Dream’ concert.
Kotak Mahindra Bank started offering access to premium live entertainment exclusively for its credit card customers in early 2023, when credit card rewards generally meant cashbacks. They were part of Maroon 5’s debut concert in India, Backstreet Boys’ DNA India Tour etc.
There are also a group of people who have contributed and bought tickets, while many have also borrowed money via personal loans options provided by various lending apps by FinTechs.
Gen Z’s view on spending for Concerts
To gauge Gen Z’s thoughts on live concert expenses, an experiment was conducted. More than a month after the sale of Coldplay tickets, we asked youngsters how much they would be willing to pay for the concert. The results were striking:
- 87% of respondents were willing to pay up to 25,000 rupees.
- Respondents willing to pay between 25,000 to 35,000 rupees were 2%.
- 4% respondents would go as high as 35,000 to 50,000 rupees.
- 7% of participants felt justified in paying more than 50,000 rupees.
Notably, most respondents were from lower, middle, and upper-middle-income backgrounds. Even among those without an independent income, a significant portion was willing to spend as much as 25,000 rupees. This highlights Gen Z’s preference for ‘experiences’ over ‘expenses.’
Tickets in Black Market
Those who couldn’t buy the tickets are struggling to buy it in the ‘Black market’. People who have bought the tickets on the day of sale, have been selling them at overly inflated prices. These ‘scalpers’ are able to expand their reach across social media platforms and desperate masses throw their bits over them in the comments and DMs.
Standing tickets for the Coldplay concert, originally priced at 6,450 rupees, were being resold for 45,000 rupees by a 20-year-old college student.
Other seats, originally priced between 3,000 to 4,500 rupees, were going for 37,000 and 39,000 rupees, respectively. Black market vendors often offered discounts for bulk purchases.
The Concerts Economy
The popularity of artists like Diljit Dosanjh, Dua Lipa, and Coldplay has surged, fueling the growth of concert culture and influencing Gen Z’s spending habits.
“A host of music concerts have been announced with some global artists coming for the very first time. This includes, Maroon 5, Green Day, Shawn Mendes, Louis Tomlinson, to name a few. In addition to this, other artists such as Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran are playing once again in India. Moreover, this frenzy has also pushed local artists to the forefront such as Diljit Dosanjh.”
“The last biggest ticketed concert in India had an attendance of over 50,000 people. In comparison, amongst a host of shows, the Coldplay concert in Ahmedabad alone has a capacity of more than 1,32,000. The direct and indirect spending on these concerts spanning around two-three months will provide a significant boost to the overall spending and consumption,” says Bank of Baroda Research Report. The report estimates a tentative expenditure of Rs. 2000 crore, which includes tickets, F&B, Hotel, Transport and sponsorship.
