The big acts want Bangalore

THE BIG ACTS WANT BANGALORE
Another internationally acclaimed musician performs here. Is the city becoming a mega-concert capital?
The Times of India

IT’S not India’s entertainment capital. Yet, it seems that top international rock and pop acts are finding the lure of Bangalore hard to resist. The city’s popularity as a mega-concert venue is certainly on the rise — legendary singer-songwriter Mark Knopfler is performing here and at least five big acts have rocked Bangalore with their live performances in the past year. What really works in Bangalore’s favour as a big-gig venue? Is it just progressive entertainment policies or much more? Bangalore Times finds out...

The chosen one:

Often, when big acts perform in India, Bangalore is a sure stopover for a show. Recently, Mumbai lost out to Bangalore — because the city had a high entertainment tax and curfew for live performances — when rocker Sting’s show was scheduled here. It’s not the first time that either Mumbai or Delhi has lost out to Bangalore. Even when singer-songwriter Sir Elton John performed for the first time in India, Bangalore was chosen to host the concert over Mumbai and Delhi.

Viva Bangalore:

When music icon Sting played in Bangalore recently, he told the organisers, ‘When you come to the South, you literally feel the warmth and hospitality (here) when compared to the north of India.’ “There is a feeling of pride in the city — all the artistes we have worked with have always had nice things to say about Bangalore — the weather, the hospitality, the people. The turning point of the big acts wanting to come to Bangalore was achieved when Roger Waters enjoyed his experience here and had good things to say abut the city,” says events expert T Venkat Vardhan.

It’s not too taxing:

At a recent global convention on ‘The business of entertainment’ Michael Menezes, events expert said that the entertainment industry survived on ticket sales. “In India, ticketed shows worked only in Bangalore. This was because of realistic tax laws which made conducting such shows feasible.” Music aficionado Sean D’sa says, “If entertainment tax was raised here, people would think twice before buying a ticket that was too expensive.
Karnataka is pretty progressive when it comes to entertainment tax and policies visa-vis other Indian states.”

Musical awareness:

Events expert Ajit Saldanha feels that Bangaloreans are widely travelled, culturally sophisticated and the city projects a cosmopolitan image. “Call me biased, but I like to think that Bangaloreans have always been aware and receptive to good music.” Venkat says audience awareness of the artiste’s music is also a key factor that works in the city’s favour. “When the audience is familiar with most of that particular artiste’s music, it is a big high for the performer.” Many Bangaloreans take pride in the fact that the city’s concert-going public is considered musically wellversed. Says artist Sandeep Bangera, “All live shows need a good response and I’m sure performers get it out here. Compared to other cities, we are better followers of music and know and love our music too. Artistes also must be doing their bit to come and perform in the city. I’m sure they do their research and find it a good market here.”

Support factor:

Organisers of live events in the city say that support from the police and other authorities helps shows run smoothly. Priya NS, who works in events says, “Getting permissions and clearances is much faster and simpler here. Plus, there is not too much red-tape and that certainly helps. When one show goes well, you are encouraged to bring in more shows to the city. Especially the big ones.”

Growing purchasing power:

The live events business is estimated to be about Rs 400-500 crore in India. Bangalore’s share in the live events and concerts pie is sure to grow. Says Saldanha, “Well, purchasing power is up for sure and nobody blinks at a thousand rupees for a ticket anymore.” Anurita Bopanna, design expert adds, “People are opening up their purses in Bangalore. It’s got to be a commercially viable venue or they won’t keep having so many shows here. The more shows the have, the better for us.”