I get, that concerts, especially the ones with international caliber, are expensive. And all of the times the management companies need to at least break even with costs when they’re getting international artists down to India. Last year, when Coldplay came to India, the internet went up in a loud roar when the ticket prices were announced to be 25,000INR. That, some would still justify, and a lot of the audiences got the chance of experiencing the band for free; courtesy of the Global Citizen. I stand neutral here because, no comments.

NME(dot)Com

But, what somehow doesn’t register is when you put the price of a Justin Bieber concert in India as high as 76,000 rupees. Now, let it be known that the starting price of the concert tickets are 4,000 and some rupees (I don’t honestly care enough to mention the exact figure). A lot of us will sit and justify the prices; saying that we don’t really need to care about a 76k ticket when all we need is a 4k one. One huge problem with that, my friend, is that you don’t consider that a problem.

My problem isn’t with the fact that Justin Beiber isn’t worth that ticket price (I’m not saying he is, either). My problem is with the fact that artist and event management companies think that putting that price to an Indian concert ticket is worth it. Let’s look around and see the amount of poverty and pollution that 76,000 rupees could actually help in many ways. Sorry, to put a social-activist spin to it. Let’s stick to music. They don’t mind shelling out crores of rupees bringing ragers of international talent to India but, they won’t do even quarter to promote original talent that’s springing up in the country. My problem is that the people in our country will ACTUALLY spend that 76k on that fucking ticket because everyone’s got to do that thing to prove they have the money to do that thing. My problem is that people won’t spend 500 to watch up and coming talents perform at quaint bars and cafes in the country but will pay hefty amounts to see an established young star from Uncle Sam’s familia come to India strut around just because the memo said he’s that famous kid about town.

Billboard

My problem isn’t even with Justin. He’s come a long way, honestly and yes, he may not make the most enthralling music; but, he deserves due credit for his own journey. My problem is with the fact that none of these buck-loads-of-cash-wielding crowds would give a rat’s ass about our own musicians, or even international lesser known musicians but will be right there in the front flashing their junk [sic] to kiss a famous kid’s ass. Getting my drift?

And that’s not all. It’s also about the fact that these companies can get away with pricing these tickets at steep figures because they know that people WILL ACTUALLY pay that amount of money to do exactly what I described above. That’s just how screwed up the process is. The money is going to the money. That same 76 thousand can be used in 76 different and more beneficial ways—promote our own Indian musicians, invest in the careers of the youth, develop an industry that is more India-friendly than it is foreign-obsessed. You could fly abroad and watch Justin Beiber perform for a lesser price, seriously. But, we are pseudo people with a false and mistaken sense of value and nothing can change that. Yes, big names do matter when it comes to labels. But, this is more on the lines of cheating. They’re cheating homegrown talent and how.

This isn’t hate. It’s just a rant on the unfairness of the system that governs our own country’s talent and you can call it biased, all you want. It doesn’t really change the situation. Justin Bieber is great and all; but sucking up to foreigners has always been our thing, anyway. And so, it negates any greatness.

Shop The Story

Radio(dot)com