Survey flags live entertainment as high-multiplier services opportunity; calls for single-window clearances, global artists access and city-level readiness
India’s concert economy, a key pillar of the broader “Orange Economy” driven by creativity, culture, and intellectual property, could emerge as a meaningful new engine of growth for media, entertainment, tourism, and urban services, the Economic Survey has said, laying out a forward-looking roadmap for the sector.
The survey defined the orange economy as activities where value flows primarily from ideas, artistic expression, and cultural content, rather than physical goods.
Within this, large-scale live music and entertainment events form a distinct and fast-growing segment, generating economic value far beyond ticket sales through hospitality, travel, logistics, advertising, media production, and local services.
Drawing on international evidence, the survey noted that live concerts are high-multiplier, services-intensive activities. Globally, live music accounts for about one-third of total music revenues.
In the US, the live music industry generated over USD 130 billion and supported more than 900,000 jobs in 2019. In the UK, music tourism alone contributed £6.6 billion (USD 8.1 billion) in 2022, roughly 0.3 per cent of GDP, reflecting strong spillovers into hospitality, transport, and retail.
Concerts also act as short-duration tourism demand amplifiers, the survey said, creating employment across event operations, logistics, security, hospitality, and media—particularly benefiting young workers and creative professionals. According to UNCTAD estimates, creative industries contribute between 0.5 per cent and over 7 per cent of GDP across countries, highlighting the scale of opportunity for live entertainment.
In India, the concert economy remains nascent but rapidly scaling, supported by a young population, rising disposable incomes, digital ticketing platforms, and improving urban infrastructure. The survey said global experience shows that economic gains from live entertainment depend critically on urban readiness and facilitative governance, including predictable regulations, streamlined permissions, efficient crowd management, last-mile connectivity, and coordination among city authorities and tourism bodies.
However, structural constraints persist. India faces a shortage of large live-event venues, alongside restrictions on foreign payments to overseas artists and complex visa and foreign exchange approvals. The survey suggested that opening up heritage monuments for curated live events and easing visa and forex norms for international performers could significantly boost the sector.
At present, organisers require 10 to 15 separate clearances to host major live events. To address this, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is working on a single-window mechanism for live entertainment permissions, including approvals from state governments.
“With appropriate facilitation and integration into tourism and city-branding strategies, the concert economy can become a meaningful driver of growth,” the survey said, adding that live entertainment could help position Indian cities as global cultural destinations while strengthening services, exports, and employment.
As India looks to diversify its growth engines beyond traditional sectors, the survey argued that the concert economy offers a rare combination of low capital intensity, high employment potential, and strong global demand, making it a natural candidate for the next phase of services-led expansion.
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