Because global stars are now hitting India

“Please come to my city!”

A familiar cry from music lovers all over the world hoping that their favorite artists will come to their hometown.

Fans in India, however, have often seen that prejudice fall on deaf ears.

Artists including Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams and Arctic Monkeys will appear Spotify’s weekly country album chartwhere Ed Sheeran ÷ (Divide) spent 217 consecutive weeks.

Many famous musicians in the world tend to skip the country.

But that now seems to have changed.

Dua Lipa’s recent performance in Mumbai has gone viral and Coldplay will soon launch their tour – nine years after their last visit to India.

Their dates include two shows in Ahmedabad where over 100,000 people are expected to attend each night.

“To have this experience in our country, it’s really cool to see it happening more and more,” music fan and aspiring artist Anoushka Maskey tells BBC Newsbeat.

Demand for live music appears to be growing in India, with ticketing platform BookMyShow reporting 18% growth in 2024.

Ed Sheeran will be playing his biggest country tour yet, and artists like Shawn Mendes and Louis Tomlinson will appear at the Lollapalooza festival in March.

Marketing professor Dr Sourindra Banerjee, from Leeds University Business School, says India’s population of 1.4 billion – and its age – is a big draw for artists.

“You have a large part of the world, of the youth, living in India,” Dr Banerjee tells Newsbeat.

“So if I were in the music business, this would be the place I would target, to take advantage of the demographics.”

According to the global market research company Statista, the value of the Indian music industry in 2021 it was 19 billion rupees (£178 million).

By 2026, it is estimated that it has grown to 37 billion rupees (£346 million).

Dr. Banerjee says the rise of K-pop in India showed western artists the potential of the country to find new fans.

“The major music labels have research teams that have seen that someone else (can) take over a large market,” he says.

More generally, it feels like India growing wealth and links with the wider world it makes an important place for artists to take a place and “collaborate”.

“Not only to access the Indian market, but also to access the large Indian (population) living outside the country.”

For local Indian artists, there is hope that big names could bring big opportunities for them.

The pop/folk singer Anoushka has been making music since 2020 and feels that western artists offer a chance for home acts to find greater visibility.

She has experience herself after opening for Brit Award winner Ben Howard.

“This is an opportunity I never thought I would have in the country,” he says.

Independent singer-songwriter Anumita Nadesan says the opportunity to collaborate with bigger artists “puts you on the map”.

“It is also very inspiring, because earlier when a mega artist came to India, we had to travel to another country to see his concerts.

“And you get to learn a lot as an artist by going to these concerts,” says the Hindi artist.

Bangalore-based pop artist Frizzell D’Souza says seeing acts from abroad start from humble beginnings can send a strong message to Indian audiences that homegrown talent can achieve global fame.

She describes Ed Sheeran as her “songwriting hero” and says his background of busking and playing grassroots venues is relatable.

“It’s very reassuring to know that someone like him can actually do it,” says Frizzell.

“Even though he’s such a big superstar now, he started in the same place I did.

Frizzell also sees an opportunity for cultural exchange, with Western musical figures being exposed to Indian sounds.

She points to rapper Hanumankind, who charted globally with Big Dawgs and partnered with A$AP Rocky.

“And this is proof that having international acts come to India also helps Indian artists (worldwide) break through,” he says.

But, artists point out some possible disadvantages to the influx of world stars coming to India.

The biggest risk Frizzell sees is around money – and the audience that has a budget mainly for bigger artists.

“I hope I’m wrong about that, but maybe (they) prefer bigger international acts and I don’t want to take a chance on younger or upcoming acts.”

Anumita adds that there is also a chance that artists will miss the attention that small artists receive.

“But then it also challenges small artists to maybe raise the bar.”

According to Peony Hirwani, music reporter at Rolling Stone India, the risk of being overshadowed is low as the companies involved in events often ensure that local artists are the main support acts.

She cites G-Eazy’s 2024 tour as an example, which had only Indian support artists – helping to boost his career.

Instead, he tells Newsbeat, the focus should be on improving the infrastructure to attract the biggest names like Taylor Swift and Beyonce – who have yet to bring their tours to India.

The fans have often complained on the facilities, concerts often held in sports stadiums used during India’s long cricket season and not always available throughout the year.

“So we need more, bigger venues, and a better system in place for music,” says Peony.

The Lollapalooza Festival takes place at a horse racing track in Mumbai – the only place with enough space to host it safely.

“Even some of the (remarkable) stadiums we have now … there definitely needs to be a conversation about what everyone needs to make our infrastructure and venues better,” Peony says.

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