INDIA REJOICE, INTERNATIONAL TOURS ARE ON THE RISE

International artists have been touring India since more than four decades now. Last year alone, India witnessed international giants such as Coldplay and Justin Beiber, both performing to sold-out stadium venues. There were more, celebrated guitarists Yngwie Malmsteen and Guthrie Govan played to packed venues in addition to shows by Britain based pop band The Vamps and DJ Marshmello.

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So what really goes into organising an international artist tour?

Organisers have to foremost weigh in financial parameters such as costs of artist accommodation, logistics, F&B, production, and design and marketing in addition to the artist booking fee and subsequent tax payments. Once the finance estimate is realised, organisers either scout for sponsorship or fund the events themselves. Securing funds at an early stage is crucial for numerous advance payments that have to be made to booking agencies, artist management and show venues. When it comes to profits, 90% of booking agencies earn revenue through ticket sales.

There is not much difference in the investment-revenue ratio of concert shows and club tours - Uddipan Sarmah, Founder, BlueTree

Uddipan Sarmah(Founder-Bluetree and frontman of post rock band aswekeepsearching) who organised the Guthrie Govan Tour of Indian & Nepal last year in December, believes there is not much difference in the investment-revenue ratio of concert shows and club tours. In fact most organisers agree that the planning and financial expenses put into organising a club tour is far less compared to a concert show which usually involves larger core teams, greater resources and increased complications in instruction chains.  Perhaps that is why booking agencies are hosting international club tours more frequently now. “Clubs usually take care of artist accommodation and F&B, so a percentage of the revenue is shared with them”, Sarmah adds. Most organisers turn only to ticket revenues for profit.

 Alternate Revenue Streams As You Organize A Tour

But how does a promoter or a booking agency know which international artist to book? Most organizers tend to book international artists whose music they’re truly inspired by. Of course, a number of other variables such as the artist’s affordability and popularity are factored in too.  According to Sarmah of Bluetree, club shows do not require extensive market research because they cater to small crowds of 200-300 people.  Promoters also observe Facebook stats and other social media trends to keep track of the audience’s taste.   

One of the biggest challenges that organisers face in the initial phases of organising is obtaining visas for international artists. Concert organisers such as Salman from Bangalore Open Air know the difficulty of having to secure a plethora of licenses and permits such as Law and Order Permit, Police Permit and Traffic Permit. He feels the government is quite strict when it comes to visa applications for international artists. Cyrus Gorimar agrees and adds, “Post-GST, tax rates have changed dramatically. People don’t know that 40% of my revenue will be lost in taxes and the remaining 60% liable for income tax.” Recently when tickets for Dream Theater’s debut concert in Mumbai went online, there was a backlash. A faction of online users felt the tickets to be ‘unfairly’ priced, some even writing about how the tickets cost them half their salaries. Yet, Gorimar is quite confident, “98% of the fan-base in India does not think the prices are unreasonable.”

Most promoters are confident that the live international scene in India is only getting better in the coming years. Artists such as Steve Vai, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Textures have already been officially announced for headliner performances at this year’s NH7 Weekender while English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran too is set to return to India in November later this year to perform at JioGarden, Mumbai.