Amid the controversy around black marketing of Coldplay’s “Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025”, online ticketing major BookMyShow is mulling the cancellation of tickets bought from ticket selling/ reselling platforms.
In a statement, a BookMyShow spokesperson said that it is looking to reinforce its position against ticket reselling in India. “We remain vigilant in monitoring such instances of ticket reselling for this tour through black market channels and will continue to share all relevant information with the authorities to ensure appropriate action is taken. BookMyShow is assessing potential cancellation of such tickets that are being sold- unethically,” the spokesperson said.
The company said that it filed a formal FIR (First Information Report) with the authorities on October 2, a few days after it filed an “initial” complaint with the Mumbai Police.
In its formal complaint, the company has named ticket scalping platforms such as Viagogo, Stubhub Holdings, along with individuals reselling tickets for the tour across social media platforms.
“Our stance remains clear and unchanged – BookMyShow vehemently condemns and opposes ticket reselling which is deemed illegal and is punishable by law in India. BookMyShow has no association with any such unauthorised ticket selling/reselling platforms and/or any third party individuals/platforms for the purpose of reselling Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India,” the spokesperson added.
The statement comes days after it was reported that the company itself is facing a probe in the matter. The Mumbai Police summoned BookMyShow CEO Ashish Hemrajani after lawyer Amit Vyas filed a complaint accusing the company of enabling the black market sale of tickets for the highly anticipated Coldplay concert.
However, Hemrajani skipped appearing before the Police on September 27. Three days later, COO Anil Makhija appeared before the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
“Our authorised representatives and senior management have been available as required by the authorities, ensuring full transparency in sharing all necessary information with the EOW,” the spokesperson said.
Tickets for the concert went live on the platform on September 22 at 1.30 PM and were sold out within minutes. Ticket prices for the concert ranged between INR 2,500 to INR 12,500 . However, the tickets were later being sold for as much as INR 4 Lakh on the aforementioned reselling platforms.
The tickets for the concert are still live on Viagogo and can cost fans upwards of INR 2 Lakh.
Given the controversy around the concert, there were speculations that the show might see a last minute cancellation.
However, BookMyShow clarified that the concert will go as per schedule. “We would also like to clarify that Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India will proceed as planned. Reports contrary to this are factually incorrect,” the spokesperson said.
BookMyShow’s newest rival Zomato also faced a similar problem for Diljit Dosanjh’s Dil-luminati concert in Delhi. Zomato has issued a formal notice to Viagogo for selling tickets without authorisation and filed multiple cyber crime complaints against other scalping or secondary sales sites.
