Lollapalooza will be a production treat with four massive stages: Anil Makhija, BookMyShow

by  Komal Darji Entertainment | August 1, 2022 | Interview

BookMyShow Lollapalooza

BookMyShow to host the multi-genre music festival ‘Lollapalooza’ in Mumbai on January 28 and 29, 2023. It will spearhead Lollapalooza India as the promoter and co-producer for the festival’s Indian edition along with global producers, Perry Farrell, WME and C3 Presents.

In an exclusive interview with EVENTFAQS Media, Anil Makhija, COO – Live Entertainment & Venues, BookMyShow shares insights on Lollapalooza’s Asia debut, festivals benefiting ticketing platforms, BookMyShow’s international music festivals and more. 

How will the iconic music phenomenon's debut in Asia be unique from other locations after touring eight nations?

Lollapalooza is a global music phenomenon, an incomparable international experience that will create and amplify the exposure for both, global talent to the Indian as well as Asian audience and vice-versa, while also putting the spotlight on the country as a global entertainment hub. This will further expose Indian audiences to multiple new and globally developed genres of music as well.

Its sheer scale makes Lollapalooza one of its kind as the largest and most diverse music festival to ever step into India, opening the gateway for music lovers all over the continent. As the ultimate multi-genre music festival, Lollapalooza is a melting pot of myriad genres of music comprising pop, rock, metal, punk rock, hip-hop, indie, EDM and techno music offering something for everyone. The iconic festival will be a production treat with four massive stages, each with an individual experience catering to different sections of the audience and massive-scaled global and Indian artists, with parallel performances on each stage, a powerful and colourful play of light and sound. It will be a musical extravaganza of over 20 hours of music across 2 days with about 60% global artists and 40% Indian artists playing together, ranging from chart toppers globally and nationally and also including some genre-specific, niche music. 

How do international music festivals like Lollapalooza help in benefiting Indian ticketing platforms like BookMyShow?

India’s music landscape has witnessed meteoric growth in the past few years. Slowly but steadily the country has set the stage to become a keystone for some of the biggest music performances and markets in the world, from hosting acclaimed international and Indian independent artists at large concerts to smaller formats that are gradually shaping up the music landscape in the country. As an end-to-end provider of all things entertainment including and especially for live entertainment, BookMyShow’s work in this space across the value chain has focused on creating exposure for both, global talent to the Indian audience and vice-versa. Lollapalooza is a global music phenomenon, an incomparable international experience, that will not only amplify this exposure in India but also all of Asia and put the spotlight on the country as a global entertainment hub. This will also expose Indian audiences to multiple new and globally developed genres of music as well.

Since 2017, BookMyShow has been exploring and building the live entertainment ecosystem in India across both, varied formats of content and scale through music, comedy, performances, theatricals and much more. Over the years we have been exploring Indian consumer affinity through exposure to individual artist acts and band performances, gauging audiences’ appetite and getting an in-depth understanding of consumer preferences for live entertainment acts, inclusive of music concerts and gigs. We have observed audience scale and affinity steadily increasing across our live events IPs such as the Ed Sheeran and Aziz Ansari shows, live experiences such as Cirque Du Soleil BAZZAR, Disney’s Aladdin, NBA India Games 2019 and U2: The Joshua Tree Tour for India, taking the market by storm.

The resounding reception of artists and content formats over the last few years across live events in India has put BookMyShow in the top spot for international promotors who are keen on bringing world-class entertainment to the largest democracy in the world. It has also introduced India to global artists who are now keen on including India as part of their global tours. Globally, India is the second largest market when it comes to audio streaming numbers for artists anywhere in the world, making it an extremely important and lucrative market for live entertainment and music. For the past three decades, Lollapalooza has chosen its destinations based on market readiness, and audience interest, and today, India is truly ready for a global music festival of this legacy and scale.

India’s live entertainment ecosystem is a dynamic space, brimming with opportunity in terms of expansion by format and at scale with a parallel increase in consumption demand and spending capacity towards such experiences. At BookMyShow, we continue to strive to elevate the category by introducing international standards of production to the country’s entertainment ecosystem.