New report reveals how the music concert culture is growing in India

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India’s live entertainment and concert culture boom is a lot more than just bigger shows and expanding audiences. It is changing how people connect, discover, express themselves and experience culture. 

For years, the growth of live entertainment has been measured through the numbers that are easiest to see through tickets sold, venues filled and shows attended. However, behind every sold-out show is a more personal story: the anticipation before the first song, the strangers who become temporary friends, the chorus thousands of people know by heart, and the feeling that stays long after the lights come on.

It is this emotional and behavioural side of India’s live culture that BookMyShow Live set out to understand through ‘‘OOO: Offline. Outdoors. Out Loud – Live Season 25/26, Decoded’, a new culture-led report examining what makes people show up, what they seek from live experiences and what they carry home from them.

Drawing on responses from nearly 1,700 concert and festival-goers across 75 cities, OOO looks beyond attendance to decode the rituals, motivations, connections and emotions shaping India’s evolving relationship with live entertainment.

At its heart is a simple question: what does it mean to show up, at a time when so much of life can be experienced from behind a screen?

The report finds that live has increasingly moved from an occasional form of entertainment to a recurring part of how people spend their time. Eight in 10 respondents say concert-going is a regular part of their lives, pointing to the emergence of a distinct live culture with its own rituals, behaviours and expectations.

The motivations behind showing up are deeply personal. It also said that 51 per cent of respondents say they attend because they have followed an artist’s journey for years, while just 4 per cent cite FOMO. The decision to attend is increasingly rooted in a relationship with the artist and the meaning their music holds for the individual.

Speaking to mid-day, Naman Pugalia, who is the chief business officer – Live Events, BookMyShow, said, “Live entertainment has become much more than a night out or a weekend plan; it is increasingly a way for people to express themselves, connect with like-minded communities and create memories around the music and artists that move them. Our OOO: Offline. Outdoors. Out Loud. The report reflects this cultural shift, with 66 per cent of respondents identifying the experience of an entire stadium singing together as the moment that gave them the ‘Chills, literal chills’ moment, while 56 per cent experienced a genuine moment of connection with a stranger experiencing the same rush of emotions through the performance. These moments capture what makes live experiences so distinctive, they transform a shared love for music into a collective emotion that extends beyond the stage. As this culture continues to evolve in India, we are seeing live entertainment become an increasingly meaningful part of how people discover music, build connections and experience culture together.”

Live is becoming a space for belonging

The deeper story, however, lies in what people are seeking once they arrive.

The study revealed that 44 per cent of respondents say they came to a live show hoping to feel emotionally healed. For 66 per cent, the moment that creates the biggest chills is hearing the entire crowd sing a chorus together. And 56 per cent say they have experienced a moment of connection with a stranger at a live event.

Together, these findings point to the emotional currency of live concerts, the feeling of being part of something larger than yourself. A concert creates a rare kind of collective presence – thousands of people arriving independently and, for a few hours, experiencing the same thing in real time.

It is this human dimension of live entertainment that OOO seeks to document. The rituals around the show, the anticipation, the discovery, the shared emotion and the moments that stay with audiences long after they leave the venue.

A culture that extends beyond the stage

The emotional relationship with live music also changes the way audiences behave around it. The concert begins long before the artist walks on stage – with group chats, outfit planning, countdowns and rituals, and continues long after the final song, through replays, conversations, photographs, setlist searches and plans for the next show.

Discovery happens differently when it is live

Live music concert is also becoming an important space for music discovery. The report also revealed that 72 per cent of respondents discovered a new artist at a BookMyShow Live show during the season. The finding reflects the unique role of a live stage in creating an encounter between an artist and an audience, often before that artist has become familiar through streams, playlists or algorithms.

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