Mr Viral
Between cases filed and tickets sold and re-sold, a lot of tumult has come with the Brit band’s return to perform in January 2025
After nearly a year of rumors, British band Coldplay announced on Sept. 19, 2024 that their Music of the Spheres Tour was coming to India, their return to the country since 2016.
The globe-trotting, eco-conscious tour by Coldplay – comprising Chris Martin, Will Champion, Jonny Buckland and Guy Berryman – is slated to take place on Jan. 18, Jan. 19 and Jan. 21, 2025 (a third date that was added later) at Navi Mumbai’s D.Y. Patil Stadium.
Promoted and produced by BookMyShow Live, the anticipation for tickets to the spectacle-like Coldplay shows grew to a frenzied level, to the extent that it’s led to allegations of black market ticket sales by entertainment company BookMyShow. The company, in turn, sent out stern reminders that only tickets booked through their platform would be eligible and everything else sold via third-party resale platforms such as Viagogo were invalid.
With rumors of more Coldplay India shows – with Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium playing host – still going strong, we take a look at the timeline of events so far.
Sept. 19, 2024: Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour India Dates Announced
Eight years after their India debut at the Global Citizen Festival India in Mumbai in 2016, Coldplay confirm that they will return to perform at two shows on Jan. 18 and 19, 2025. Ticket sales are announced to start on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. BookMyShow Live promotes and produces the show in association with Live Nation and Coldplay.
Sept. 22, 2024: Coldplay’s India Show Tickets Sell Out and Not Everyone’s Happy
With a queuing system in place on BookMyShow and a limit of four tickets per ID, buyers prepped to snap-up tickets are logged out around the time Coldplay ticket sales are slated to begin at 12 pm. The ‘buy now’ option only began showing for many around 12:15 pm. With a reported 13 million (1.3 crore) logins on BookMyShow to buy tickets for the two shows, queue numbers begin drawing comparisons to exam ranks and phone numbers. The ticket queue freezes for at least 15 minutes as tickets sell out in different categories.
By 1:30 pm, tickets for both shows sell out and Coldplay announce a third show at D.Y. Patil Stadium, taking place on Jan. 21, 2025. Ticket sales begin soon after at 2 pm and is sold out within an hour.
Sept. 22 to 24, 2024: Memes and Allegations of Bots, Ticket Scalpers Fly
As tickets for Coldplay’s India shows emerge on resale platforms like Viagogo, Gigsberg and StubHub, BookMyShow clarifies on their social media that they have “no association with any ticket selling/reselling platform.” Similar to their stance ahead of ticket sales, the company warns audiences of scammers. “Scalping is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India,” it states.
Unverified sources claim they found a backdoor to bypass the queue by digging into BookMyShow’s platform code or creating bots.
The Internet, of course, has a field day, with plenty of memes alongside angry comments and posts about BookMyShow’s inability to provide a smooth ticket-buying experience and allowing ticket resales at exorbitant rates.
Many allege that BookMyShow has also set aside tickets for influencers, brands and VIPs, leading to a smaller tranche of tickets being available. The company refutes all allegations of malpractice and filed an initial written complaint to authorities regarding black market ticket sales on Sept. 23.
Sept. 28, 2024: BookMyShow Summoned by Economic Offences Wing
Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) issues summons to BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani, along with the entertainment company and ticketing platform’s technical head, based on a complaint filed by Mumbai lawyer Amit Vyas regarding the sale of Coldplay tickets for their January shows in India as part of the British band’s Music of the Spheres World Tour.
According to a report by ANI, BookMyShow is accused of “unethical practices” and “manipulating access” that prevented fans from buying tickets. Vyas is also seeking to register an FIR under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including organized crime, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust.
BookMyShow’s statement to the press says, “We have not only filed a complaint with the police authorities but are also proactively working with them to provide complete support in the investigation of this matter in any manner that may be required. To our consumers, we would like to reiterate that any tickets bought from unauthorized sources will be at their own risk and may likely be invalid or fake tickets.”
Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, 2024: BookMyShow Cooperates with Probe, Files FIR Against Black Marketeers
Hemrajani appears twice after EOW summons. On Sept. 30, BookMyShow’s chief operating officer Anil Makhija also appeared for questioning.
BookMyShow lodged an FIR with Vile Parle police against an unidentified person for the alleged black marketing of Coldplay concert tickets at higher rates. They provided contact details of 27 individuals as well as details of three Instagram account holders, and Viagogo.com, claiming they were all involved in black market ticket sales.
According to Times of India, the FIR mentions individuals who were selling tickets at a high rate on a WhatsApp group. BookMyShow said they are assessing the potential cancelation of tickets which are sold unethically.
Details emerge in the course of a seven-hour questioning that BookMyShow’s parent company Big Tree Entertainment had purchased a total of 1.2 lakh (120,000) tickets from Coldplay to resell for their shows.
On Oct. 1, they sent out a communication on their Instagram: “The email confirmation received by ticket buyers from BookMyShow is a confirmation for your ticket purchase, and is NOT your actual ticket. Physical Tickets will be delivered to the delivery address mentioned while purchasing the ticket, closer to the show date. Note: Tickets purchased from BookMyShow are the ONLY valid tickets.”
The Indian Express sought comment from Viagogo on the controversy, with a spokesperson for the platform saying that their “platform is fully compliant with Indian law – as it is in all markets in which it operates.” The report adds that Viagogo is only a secondary marketplace that does not sell tickets but only facilitates sales, with the sellers independently setting the price themselves. In the email, a Viagogo spokesperson added that “Viagogo takes its obligations under law very seriously. When we are contacted by any relevant authority in respect of any investigation, Viagogo cooperates fully and fulfills its legal obligations.”
Times of India reports on Oct. 5 that a Mumbai-based teen and his friends were victim to a fraud of ₹2.2 lakh while trying to buy Coldplay tickets through a contact he found online. A total of 24 tickets were ordered, with a fake email confirmation coming from the ID ‘[email protected]’
Oct. 6, 2024: Demands and Misinformation Galore, Ahmedabad Show Rumors
Several media outlets and Instagram pages began fueling the possibility of Coldplay’s India shows getting canceled, with some comments demanding that all tickets be canceled, refunds issued and a fresh sale take place, an option that people say will give them a fairer chance. This has been refuted, with BookMyShow only stating that they are assessing potential cancelation of tickets sold unethically.
In parallel, Coldplay fan pages have begun announcements that the band will play a fourth show in Ahmedabad on Jan. 25, 2025, although no official sources confirm or deny additional concerts.
All eyes will be on BookMyShow once Coldplay’s Infinity Tickets go on sale on Nov. 22, 2024 on the platform. Priced at ₹2,000 and to be purchased in pairs to give access across seating and standing categories, Infinity Tickets are released for every Coldplay show to “make the Music Of The Spheres World Tour accessible to fans for an affordable price,” a press release says.
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