Diljit Dosanjh concert tour ignites ticket pricing row

Bengalureans have called the criticism of Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh over the affordability of tickets for his upcoming India tour unfair. We do not object to coughing up the steep prices for international artistes, they point out.

The 10-city tour, which comes to Bengaluru on December 6, sold out in minutes last week. The tickets were priced between Rs 1,400 and Rs 19,999 but fans in Bengaluru and Hyderabad told Metrolife that by the time they logged in, the cheapest tickets were available at Rs 2,500, Rs 3,500 and Rs 7,000. A legion of fans could not book a ticket and took to social media to express their disappointment. 

What happened 

The debate about affordability broke out when comedian-influencer Saumya Sahni from Mumbai posted a video ‘15k for a concert? In this country? In this economy?’. She argued no Indian artiste has this “right” to price their tickets so high for a solo show in India. “Your core audience has no money or employment,” she said, referring to his fans from the middle-class. 

The post got a mixed response. International bands like Nirvana would keep their ticket prices low for their ‘actual fans’, one said. We are no one to judge how much an artiste should charge for their talent, read another response. “Everyone deserves a slice of life, art and music & see people they admire (sic),”  Saumya wrote in response to those who said concerts are not a necessity and that there is free music to stream. A content creator criticised her stance in a reel titled ‘Economics 101’.

Musicians’ POV

Debjeet Basu of Perfect Strangers likens top-billed concerts to luxury cars. "Everybody wants them but only a few can afford them. It's always been the case," said founder and guitarist of the rock band.

However, he expressed disappointment at the sub-text of the discussion. “Musicians aren’t treated like professionals. Just like one demands a higher salary when one gets promoted at work, musicians hike their fee when they become popular and they should because they have a shelf life," he said. 

Fame in the field of art is neither achieved overnight nor does it last long, says Khalid Ahamed. The frontman of Parvaaz, a band that plays a mix of acoustic and Sufi-rock music, says: “It takes years of hard work to get to where Dosanjh is today. Artistes should not oversell nor undersell themselves.” 

Event companies say it’s wrong to blame the artistes as it’s their team, media agencies, and ticketing platforms that decide on the ticket pricing. Moreover, an artiste’s fee is one among the many costs a ticket covers and it can range between 20% and 30%, they added. 

Flawed ticketing

Event organiser Rohit Kumar says there are ways to lessen the burden on fans. “For big artistes, sponsorship is super easy to come by. That can subsidise the ticket cost greatly,” he says. 

College students like Aparna G and Devisha Mehta slammed the system of prioritising customers of certain banks during ticket sales. Devisha managed to grab a ticket worth Rs 3,400, only because her friend held the credit card that was required for the pre-sale.

The law student says, “The cardholders booked the cheaper tickets in bulk, leaving the costlier ones for us to choose from later. Now those people are reselling the tickets at higher prices to desperate fans. This artificial inflation was avoidable.”

Aparna said concerts are immensely popular among college-goers and ticketing platforms should consider offering this demography of fans discounts and passes.