Post-pandemic blues: Attending gigs may get more expensive than before in Mumbai

Music gigs in the city have become costlier to attend

This writer was at a couple's house two weekends ago and both, the young man and woman were really eager to head to Veranda, a gig venue in Khar, to listen to a bunch of Indian DJs spinning music. But when they found out that the entry fee was Rs 1,000, they baulked. They felt that it was too much to pay for what the music would be worth, and decided to stay in. It wasn't a happy realisation, but the fact is that venues in the city are charging more at the door now that they have reopened for music after laws were eased, than they would before the pandemic. Veranda is one case in point, as is antiSocial, which has increased the base ticket price from Rs 500 to Rs 800. It's understandable, to be fair, since the past 20 months have been barren in terms of revenue and these establishments are making up for lost time and money.

Yes, it does marginalise a certain section of the audience, especially the college-going crowd that isn't flush with money. But Daniel Netto, programmer and IP curator at Veranda, reasons that this increase is inevitable given how everybody's interests need to be safeguarded. "There are multiple players behind every gig, starting from sponsors to show runners to security people. Each and every one of those economies needs to resurface [post restrictions being lifted] and we have to collate our costs before deciding on the entry fee," he says, highlighting what a nightmare the past year and a half has been for the events industry.

Subid Khan

Vivek Dudani, programming head at antiSocial, agrees. He tells us how they didn't let go of any staff members during the pandemic, and had to keep paying rent for the property as well even when there was no money coming in. But he adds that it's not just about staff salaries. "Even the artistes are demanding double or at least 50 per cent more than what they would earlier. Plus, flight prices have also gone up, as have hotel fees. That's one of the reasons why we have to try and figure out ways to make higher revenues," he explains.

Ticket to play

The point he is making is that this period has been extremely tough on musicians too, since they were starved of income. But Subid Khan, guitarist of a band called The Many Roots Ensemble that recently played a gig at Veranda, adds that one other factor behind the increase in ticket prices is that sometimes, the payment agreement between the act and the venue is such that the latter tells the musicians that they aren't willing to give them a one-time fee for booking the gig. Instead, the artistes can retain whatever money is collected at the door, which of course means that there will be an entry fee when earlier, the gig might very well have been free to attend. "It's a gamble for us since things can go either way. What if only 10 people show up for the gig? We also have to take on a lot of additional responsibility in terms of promoting the concert ourselves since the venue is taking no onus of doing it," Khan says, adding that many places prefer to programme DJs and electronic music producers since it involves less money than organising a concert for a full band that needs a back line to support it.

Vivek Dudani and Daniel Netto

Sign of things to come

That's thus how things stand in terms of the money you'll have to shell out to listen to music in Mumbai at present. But will this become the new norm, or will prices drop some months ahead? Dudani feels that this is how things will stay moving ahead, adding that there are enough people who are willing to shell out the extra money. "There has always been that five per cent who feel that it's too expensive," he says, referring to the couple friend who decided to stay that night and who, from the look of things, will just have to come to terms with this new reality.