‘Open heritage monuments, ease forex payments for concert market’

The Economic Survey 2025-26 on Thursday flagged the lack of live event venues and restrictions on foreign payments as impediments to the growth of the concert economy and suggested opening up heritage monuments to boost the sector.

According to the survey, India’s concert and live entertainment economy crossed Rs 10,000 crore in 2024. The impact goes beyond ticket sales. Large events act as short-duration demand boosters for airlines, hotels, restaurants and city transport systems.

The survey, tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament, said that with appropriate facilitation, the concert economy can become a meaningful driver of growth for Media and Entertainment (M&E), tourism and allied services.

“In India, there is a lack of live event venues and restrictions on the foreign payments that can be made to artists coming from abroad,” the Survey said. Globally, live music accounts for about one-third of total music revenues; in the US, it generated over $130 billion and supported more than 900,000 jobs in 2019.

In the UK, music tourism alone contributed 6.6 billion pounds in 2022, which was about 0.3 per cent of GDP, reflecting strong spillovers to hospitality, transport and retail. It is suggested that opening up heritage monuments for such events and facilitating the visa and foreign exchange permissions for the foreign performers and artists could be considered in this regard.

The Survey said the concert economy in India was nascent but scaling, supported by a young population, rising incomes, digital ticketing platforms and improving urban infrastructure. International experience underscores that economic gains depend on urban readiness and facilitative governance, including streamlined permissions, predictable regulations, efficient crowd management, last-mile connectivity and coordination across city authorities and tourism bodies.

Considering that anywhere between 10 and 15 clearances are required, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is working on a Single Window Mechanism for Live Entertainment Permissions, including those needed from State Governments.

With appropriate facilitation and integration into tourism and city branding strategies, the concert economy can become a meaningful driver of growth for M&E, tourism and allied services. Concerts also serve as short-duration tourism demand amplifiers, being labour-intensive and creating jobs across various sectors, including event operations, logistics, hospitality, security and media, particularly for young people and creative professionals.

According to UNCTAD estimates, the creative industries contribute between 0.5 per cent and over 7 per cent of GDP across countries.