Chandan Kumar Nath
(chandankumarnath7236@gmail.com)
The year 2025 is set to be remembered not just for economic recovery and
technological leaps, but as the moment India truly embraced the “Concert Economy”. Once seen as a niche segment of the leisure industry, live music events have rapidly transformed into a powerful engine of experiential commerce, creating a resonant ripple effect that touches everything from state tourism policies and infrastructure development to hyper-local vendor sales. This is not merely about selling tickets; it is about building a scalable, multi-billion-dollar ecosystem that promises to inject new dynamism into the nation’s growing experiential economy.
The Concert Economy, a term gaining increasing political and corporate traction, describes the holistic financial impact generated by large-scale live entertainment events. Its significance is measured far beyond the primary revenue streams of ticket and merchandise sales. At its heart, the Concert Economy is a robust multiplier for allied sectors. Recent data paints a compelling picture of this sector’s ascent. A report by PwC projected a massive growth for India’s live music industry, vaulting from an estimated $29 million in 2020 to $149 million in 2024, a staggering growth of over 400%. The organised live events segment has been estimated to have crossed the Rs 12,000 crore mark in 2024, with projections suggesting its value could double by 2030. This explosive growth is driven by India’s demographic dividend: a large population of millennials and Gen Z with rising disposable incomes who increasingly prioritise experiences over material possessions. For this cohort, attending a concert by a globally celebrated artist is the ultimate form of social and cultural currency. The true measure of this economy, however, lies in its secondary and tertiary impacts. Consider the case of the Coldplay concert held in Ahmedabad. According to a reported EY-Parthenon estimate, the event generated an economic impact of a colossal Rs 641 crore, with a direct boost of nearly Rs 400 crore flowing into the city’s economy. Every sector experienced a surge: hotel tariffs hit record highs, passenger traffic at the airport jumped significantly, and food delivery platforms saw exponential growth. Concerts, therefore, act as high-value tourism magnets, drawing interstate and international visitors whose spending on hospitality, transport, dining, and retail creates an immediate and substantial economic windfall for the host city.
The economic narrative of the Concert Economy has recently found a fresh, ambitious setting in the Northeast, challenging the traditional dominance of Tier-1 metropolitan hubs. The Post Malone concert in Guwahati, Assam, stands as a landmark moment: the inaugural major test of the state’s ambitious, forward-thinking Concert Tourism Policy. The American rapper’s performance on December 8, 2025, is not just a musical event; it is a geopolitical and economic statement. The Assam government, through its Tourism Development Corporation, has collaborated with international promoters to position Guwahati, and by extension the entire Northeast, as a viable global destination for large-format live experiences. This move is backed by a substantial investment in entertainment infrastructure and a policy designed to streamline the notoriously complex logistics and licensing processes through initiatives like the Viability Gap Funding Scheme. The impact is already manifest. Over 20,000 tickets have been sold, with fans flocking in from neighbouring states like Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and even distant corners of India. This influx of non-local attendees translates directly into revenue for the local economy. Homestays and hotels in the city have reported being fully booked, and local travel services are experiencing a surge in demand. As Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has articulated, the goal is clear: to leverage the event’s global spotlight to “promote the state’s name globally” and diversify its economy beyond traditional tourism narratives. While the choice of the headliner has sparked some cultural debate regarding its universal appeal within the region, the stakes of the event remain undeniable. Its successful execution, encompassing everything from world-class production standards, meticulous crowd management, and sustainability measures, will serve as a crucial pilot project. A smooth and successful Post Malone concert will send an unequivocal signal to international promoters and artists that the Northeast is logistically ready, economically welcoming, and culturally ambitious. It validates the state’s policy and acts as a foundation for a sustainable, year-round cultural calendar that could attract future large-scale events, cementing Guwahati’s position as a vibrant, new entertainment hub in the country.
The role of the Concert Economy extends far beyond immediate cash flows; it is a critical instrument of city branding and soft power. When a city successfully hosts an event of the magnitude of Post Malone’s “Big As World Tour”, it earns global media coverage and cultural credibility, rebranding itself from a purely regional centre to an international hub. This enhanced visibility is invaluable for attracting future foreign investments, skilled labour, and general tourism. Moreover, the events act as a catalyst for infrastructure development. Hosting major concerts necessitates the development or upgrading of venues, improved connectivity, better traffic and crowd management systems, and a more robust ecosystem of support services. The push for international-standard production, audio, and safety compliance, as seen in the Guwahati arrangements, drives capacity building within the local event management, technical, and security sectors, creating new, high-value jobs. Industry estimates suggest the live entertainment sector could create up to 12 million jobs by 2032 if it sustains its current trajectory. However, for the Concert Economy to truly mature and fulfil its massive potential, structural challenges must be addressed. A key hurdle remains the lack of globally compliant, purpose-built venues in many major Indian cities. Furthermore, regulatory frameworks and licensing procedures often remain fragmented and opaque, requiring promoters to navigate a labyrinth of permissions. A collaborative approach between industry and government to streamline these regulations and formalise the sector within national policy, perhaps granting it the status of a creative industry, will be a game-changer.
The Concert Economy is fundamentally transforming India’s economic landscape. It represents a powerful convergence of rising youth affluence, a global focus on experience-driven consumption, and government vision, exemplified by Assam’s bold move with the Post Malone concert. These mega-events are not merely fleeting moments of entertainment; they are structured economic multipliers that fuel tourism, generate employment, foster infrastructure improvements, and enhance a city’s global brand equity. With Guwahati setting the stage for a world-class spectacle, this signifies a coming-of-age moment for India’s live entertainment sector. The resonant ripple of a single chord struck on a grand stage is proving potent enough to rewrite the economic future of entire regions, cementing the Concert Economy’s status as a formidable and essential pillar of India’s creative and experiential growth story.