When Spanish pop sensation Enrique Iglesias dropped by Mumbai last month, one fan made a rich revelation amid all the buzz. A ticket for Iglesias’s 2004 concert was priced at Rs 600. In 2025, the number jumped to Rs 7000. That’s a nearly 390 per cent rise, adjusted for inflation. It’s an open secret that there’s more money flowing into live events than ever before, but how much of it trickles down to the artiste’s pockets? “In a world where money passes through so many hands, barely a small fraction of it reaches the artiste. If it’s an indie artiste, their paychecks are slimmer,” says Komal Thakur, co-founder of Paylist.music.

Bengaluru band Derek & the Cats will perform an instrumental piece at the experimental gig. PIC COURTESY/DEREK MATHIAS