Ticketing platform under fire for scalping Coldplay tickets

Authorities in India have summoned executives at a ticketing platform after angry Coldplay fans failed to secure tickets to the British rock band's upcoming concerts in Mumbai and complained of uncontrolled scalping.

It's the latest in a series of frustrating experiences around the world for fans who face growing competition and rising prices to see their favorite international artists on stage. Many of them are directing their anger at the platforms that sell tickets – and calling on the authorities to take action.

Last month, American company Ticketmaster came under British government scrutiny after Oasis fans complained about “dynamic pricing” for the band's reunion tour. The platform has also faced criticism in the US over its disastrous sale of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in 2022 and, along with its parent company Live Nation, is the subject of an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department this year.

Coldplay fans say they have experienced long waits and technical problems on BookMyShow, the official ticketing platform in India for the band's Music of the Spheres world tour, which heads to India's financial capital in January. They were disappointed, they said, when the tickets were bought by scalpers who sold them for many times their original price.

Lavanya Maheshwari said she and five of her friends were ready and waiting when tickets went on sale at 12 p.m. local time on September 22, and everyone was updating the concert's website on their laptops and phones.

“We had 12 machines in the room trying to book tickets,” said Maheshwari, an accountant from Gurugram, a city southwest of New Delhi.

But the website crashed even before sales started.

“We refreshed ourselves for half an hour,” she said.

When they finally entered, she said, they were placed in a virtual ticketing line lined with hundreds of thousands of people. They spent hours getting ahead of the line only to have tickets sell out, she said.

Tickets for the show ranged from 2,500 rupees (US$30) to 35,000 rupees (US$415). But within hours they were listed on resale platforms for thousands of dollars.

On Monday, the website Viagogo showed the lowest tier tickets for $1,500 and the highest tier tickets for up to $4,000.

“It was the first English band I ever heard and I really wanted to see them on stage,” said Maheshwari, who turned 23 when the day tickets went on sale. “It definitely wasn’t the birthday present I was expecting.”

BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani was summoned before investigators on Monday, a Mumbai Police spokesman told NBC News. It is unclear whether he complied.

The platform said there was a “short delay.” It said tickets were limited to four per person and that the virtual queue was designed to accommodate high demand.

“We have worked hard to ensure every fan has a fair chance of securing tickets,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

BookMyShow said it was not related to resale platforms like Viagogo, adding: “Scalping and black marketing of tickets are strictly condemned and punishable in India and BookMyShow vehemently opposes this practice.”

The company said it had filed a police report and warned the public not to buy tickets that could be fraudulent.

Coldplay was originally scheduled to play just two concerts in Mumbai, on January 18 and 19, at the DY Patil Stadium, which has a capacity of 45,000. A third show for Jan. 21 was added as day tickets went on sale due to “unprecedented demand,” BookMyShow said.

Maheshwari said she logged into the app as soon as the third show was announced.

“We were very confident that we would get the tickets this time,” she said. “But when we got back in line, we still couldn’t get it.”

“There were friends who queued up afterwards because we told them about the show. And somehow they got it, but not us,” she added.

Tickets are now only available at prices far beyond their reach, Maheshwari said.

“These websites are selling tickets for 20, 30, 40 times,” she said. “We just can’t buy that.”