Initially, Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres” world tour at Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium was scheduled on January 18 and 19, 2025. But the British band added a third show to its Mumbai leg on January 21 citing “phenomenal demand” after fans expressed frustration over their failure to secure a ticket.
The venue – DY Patil Stadium, where Coldplay will perform, can accommodate around 50,000 people. There’s room for another 10,000 in standing, and that’s 1.8 lakh tickets across three shows.
Tickets originally priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 35,000 quickly appeared on resale platforms like Viagogo, with some being listed for as much as Rs 3 lakhs. Known as “scalping” in Gen Z terms, this is the digital age’s version of ‘black’ ticketing at exorbitant prices.
However, the frenzy isn’t confined to resale platforms alone. The ticketing scam has spilled over onto Telegram, where touts are hawking ‘black’ tickets at prices soaring up to 10 times the original. Within hours, groups sprung up on the app, with sellers flooding in to pitch their tickets at sky-high rates, capitalising on desperate fans willing to pay a premium.
In a Telegram group with over 1700 members that India Today reviewed, some sellers offered tickets at 10 times their original value, few others offered them at 2.5 times the price. Lounge tickets, originally priced at Rs 35,000, are now being resold for as high as Rs 1.5 lakh. Even the cheapest, Level 3 (E & L) tickets, initially quoted at Rs 2,500 by BookMyShow, are now being resold for as much as Rs 28,000, over 11 times the original price. Standing floor tickets, initially priced at Rs 6,450, are now going for a staggering Rs 37,000.
But complaints of fraud are common.
An investment banker from Mumbai told India Today he was blocked on Telegram by the seller immediately after he transferred the money through UPI.
“None of these sellers are genuine. They are all scammers,” another group member told India Today, putting the blame for black marketing and scam on BookMyShow for allowing the tickets to be transferred to another person by the origin buyer.
India Today got in touch with several sellers on Telegram posing as potential buyers to verify the authenticity of the tickets. He quoted Rs 32,000 for a Coldplay concert ticket and shared a phone screen recording of BookMyShow app as a proof of ticket possession. When we asked how we can trust them that they won’t sell the ticket to multiple people, they blocked all channels of communication.
A regular affair
Telegram channels also list ‘black’ tickets for Diljit Dosanjh and Karan Aujla’s shows in Delhi, Pune, and Ahmedabad. The pre-sale event originally offered tickets priced at Rs 1,499 for the Silver (seated) section and Rs 3,999 for early bird Gold (standing) tickets.
