Rahul Shaw Talks On How NDTV Good Times Is Reimagining India’s Concert Economy

NDTV Good Times is staking its claim at the centre of India’s live-entertainment boom by partnering with Yo Yo Honey Singh for the India chapter of his global “My Story” world tour.

Rahul Shaw, Chief Experiences Officer, says the collaboration is less about a single headline concert and more about architecting a new kind of cultural experience ,one that brings storytelling, content and theatre-grade production to fans across 11 Indian cities.

“Honey and I have worked together before,” Shaw says. “Our association began last December with the Millionaire Tour. We immediately struck a chord ,our vision matched. From there, the idea of a world tour grew naturally. When we talked, we decided it wouldn’t be ‘just a concert’. It had to be an experience, something you feel, not just something you watch on YouTube.”

From partnership to purpose: why NDTV Good Times and Honey Singh make sense

Shaw frames the tie-up as a meeting of complementary ambitions. NDTV Good Times wants to create differentiated, memorable live moments. Honey Singh brings generational reach: a phenomenon whose catalogue resonates with millennials and Gen Z alike.

“He’s massive, a saga. Generations have heard him, and even Gen Z listens. Good Times has come back to give people good times again  and Honey fits that promise,” Shaw says.

The result is a carefully curated “India chapter” of the world tour that promises immersive content: the artist’s story will be threaded through on-stage performances, bespoke content pieces and fan interactions, not fragmented into clips the way it appears online.

Eleven cities, one philosophy: “It’s not just India, it’s Bharat”

Rejecting a metro-only circuit, NDTV Good Times has planned an 11-city run to reach Tier II and Tier III markets. For Shaw, this is a strategic and cultural choice.

“Our ethos has been that India is not limited to metros. Today’s audience lives across towns and platforms; they’re the Instagram generation, they discover and engage instantly. So why confine a tour to five big cities? This is for Bharat,” he says. The move reflects a broader industry insight: demand is dispersed, and talent can ignite local markets when production, marketing and content are tailored well.

Reimagining live music: from Sonu Nigam in Kashmir to AR Rahman in Delhi

NDTV Good Times’ recent slate signals an appetite for boundary-pushing events. Shaw points to the Sonu Nigam concert in Kashmir , a rare, high-profile return of large-scale live music to the Valley, as an example of the channel’s commitment to reclaiming performance spaces.

“We wanted to take music back to Kashmir,” he explains. “After Pahalgam, it was our effort.” Next up is an ambitious AR Rahman concert in Delhi, featuring ensembles such as Sufi Plus and Jhala , a classical collective Rahman has nurtured. “These are unique, curated shows that perhaps nobody has attempted at this scale,” Shaw says.

What’s driving India’s concert economy? The FOMO generation

Shaw believes the live-events boom is driven by shifting youth priorities. “India is 65% youth. Their online impressions run into billions per month. They don’t invest in fixed assets, they invest in experiences and FOMO,” he notes. For him, that shift underpins the growth of the concert  and wider experience, economy.

“This audience is setting trends. They prefer buying memories over depreciating assets. As more young people enter the market, demand for high-quality experiences will only deepen.”

Infrastructure and standards: the bar will rise

Asked about infrastructure gaps, Shaw is candid but optimistic. “It’s a nascent domain and will improve. When fans compare entry management, seating, sound and safety, promoters listen  and standards rise. The audience is vocal; they’ll point out what works and what doesn’t. That feedback loop will accelerate improvement.”

He also highlights institutional recognition: the concert economy has started to appear in national conversations and policy narratives, underscoring its cultural and economic relevance.

Bold, relevant, experiential: the NDTV Good Times playbook

Summing up the channel’s long-term vision, Shaw says NDTV Good Times aims to be “different, bold and relevant” , a curator of events that deliver more than entertainment: they offer shared cultural moments and deep content. The Honey Singh “My Story” tour, he suggests, is a case study in that approach: a multi-city theatre of music, memory and narrative built for a new generation of live-event consumers.