India’s Emerging Concert Economy

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

Context

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established a Live Events Development Cell (LEDC) to facilitate the expansion of “concert economy”, boosting employment and tourism in the country.

What is the Live Events Development Cell (LEDC)?

• The LEDC was constituted in July 2025 under the direction of the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
• It functions as a single-window facilitation mechanism to address regulatory, logistical, and coordination challenges faced by the live events industry.
• The cell brings together representatives from the Central and State governments, industry associations, music rights societies, and major live event companies.
• The objective is to create an enabling ecosystem for large-scale concerts, festivals, sports events, and cultural performances across India.

India’s Live Events market Growth

• The organised live events market was valued at ₹20,861 crore in 2024.
• The sector registered a 15% growth rate, outpacing several traditional media segments.
• Attendance at theatre events increased by 45%, indicating renewed public engagement with diverse cultural experiences.
• Expansion Beyond Metros:
  • Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are emerging as important cultural and entertainment hubs.
  • Northeastern cities have recorded sharp growth in live entertainment footfalls, including Shillong (213%), Guwahati (188%), and Kokrajhar (143%).
  • Visakhapatnam recorded the highest growth at 490%, followed by Vadodara (230%).

Significance of rising Concert Economy

• Employment Generation: A single large-format live event generates more than 15,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities, spanning artists, technicians, logistics, security, hospitality, and local vendors.
• Boost to Tourism: Live events are increasingly driving domestic tourism, with audiences travelling across cities to attend concerts, theatre, and sports events.
• City Branding and Urban Economies: Major concerts help brand cities as cultural and entertainment destinations, supporting experience-based while enhancing the cultural identity and global visibility of Indian cities.
• Cultural Diplomacy: International concerts and festivals enhance India’s cultural soft power, projecting the country as a vibrant, youth-oriented, and culturally diverse global destination.

Challenges

• Infrastructure Gaps: Many cities lack world-class concert venues, adequate acoustics, crowd-capacity planning, parking facilities, and last-mile connectivity, limiting the scale and frequency of events.
• Safety Concerns: Ensuring crowd safety, emergency response, fire safety, and medical preparedness remains a challenge, particularly during large-format events with high footfalls.
• Environmental Sustainability: Large-scale live events generate high waste, energy use, and carbon emissions, with limited adoption of standardised green practices.

Way Ahead

• Event Management Protocols: Introducing nationally standardised guidelines for crowd management, emergency response, insurance coverage, and safety audits to build public trust.
• Skill Development: Integrating event management, sound and light engineering, and live production skills into Skill India and NSDC programmes to build a professional workforce.
• Balanced Urban Planning: Identifying designated event zones within cities with appropriate noise, traffic, and security planning to minimise social friction.

Source: TH