Mumbai gets a miss again

Like several other international acts in the past few years, American boy band, Backstreet Boys, which will perform in India on February 20 and 21, has given Mumbai a miss too.

Like several other international acts in the past few years, American boy band, Backstreet Boys, which will perform in India on February 20 and 21, has given Mumbai a miss too.

While that may be a reason for the city’s metal heads to celebrate , it says something about Mumbai, when every huge foreign act, from the Black Eyed Peas (2006) to Aerosmith (2007) and now, Backstreet Boys (BSB), skips it to play at other metros of the country.

In fact, though it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, Deputy Editor of Rolling Stone India, Bobin James, tweeted yesterday, “Lamb of God live in Bengaluru in May.” If the organisers pull off getting the Grammy-nominated death metal act to play in Bengaluru, it would add another insult to Mumbai’s ever-growing injuries.

HT Image

Too many problems
While entertainment tax is supposed to be the major reason behind this, New Delhi also has a similar tax structure on live shows and tickets, and yet BSB is performing there at the Rock ‘N India music festival. Explains T Venkat Vardhan, Managing Director of DNA Network, which organises Rock ‘N India, “Mumbai is missing out mainly due to infrastructure and operational costs, as opposed to entertainment tax.”

Mumbai has been losing out as a must-perform destination for international acts because promoters and event management companies think it’s too expensive.
“There are three reasons for why Mumbai is losing out on international acts,” says Owen Roncon, founder and partner of OranJuice Entertainment and Fountainhead Promotions and Events Pvt Ltd, which organises the yearly One Tree Music Festival, and brought Akon and 50 Cent to Mumbai.

“Firstly, after the recession, sponsors have completely dried up. No one wants to put in that kind of money, and we can’t do shows without funding,” he continues.
“Then, there are no venues that can house 15,000 people or so. For a gig with more that 3000 people, I have to spend ridiculous costs on production, and I’d need double the sponsorship to break even.”