Coldplay ticket black marketing: SC refuses to interfere
What's the story
The Supreme Court of India has thrown out a plea regarding black marketing and reselling of tickets for major events, including Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour.
The petitioners pointed out the struggles of genuine buyers due to automated bots that quickly bought tickets on release.
They appealed to the court to introduce regulatory measures similar to Australia's, where resale is permitted only on government-approved platforms with a maximum premium of 10%.
Suggestions
Petitioners suggested buyer-named tickets to prevent reselling
Further, the petitioners proposed that like Indian Railways's ticketing system, event tickets should have the buyer's name so that mass reselling at inflated prices can be deterred.
However, the Supreme Court refused to intervene, saying there was no reason to entertain the plea, reported CNBC TV18.
The bench suggested the petitioners could submit their recommendations to the central and state governments for appropriate action.
Fan frustration
What had happened during Coldplay's Mumbai concert?
The plea was filed after concertgoers nationwide were upset over the sale of tickets for Coldplay's Mumbai concerts, held between January 18-21, 2025.
Fans were met with frozen screens and error messages as booking opened, with BookMyShow—its official ticketing partner—failing to keep up with the demand.
At one point, it reported a waitlist of over 13,00,000 users.
While genuine buyers didn't get tickets, soon, reselling platforms were selling concert tickets at inflated prices.
Legal action
Complaints filed against BookMyShow, Viagogo for ticket fraud
Criminal complaints were lodged against BookMyShow, Viagogo, among others, for alleged black market ticketing and fraud.
Despite official warnings of scams, fans reportedly bought tickets on unauthorized platforms at exorbitant prices, between ₹1-12 lakh per ticket.
Coldplay's 2025 visit marked their return to India after nearly a decade, having last performed at the Global Citizen Festival in Mumbai in 2016.