Featured Image Credit: Live Nation Entertainment
BookMyShow is facing numerous criminal complaints in India and has itself contacted Mumbai police in the aftermath of the Coldplay on-sale earlier this week.
BookMyShow is the official ticket partner for Coldplay’s first tour of India in eight years, with the band to play three dates, promoted by Live Nation, in Mumbai in January 2025. The company’s platform crashed due to huge demand when the on-sale commenced earlier this week and there has been an outcry over tickets immediately appearing at vastly inflated prices on resale sites.
Many have claimed that BookMyShow worked in cahoots with resale sites such as Viagogo and Gigsberg to profit from fans’ desperation to see Coldplay. A complaint filed with Mumbai police’s white collar crime unit by prominent lawyer Amit Vyas makes just that claim, according to a Medianama report.
However, BookMyShow has hit back by distancing itself from resellers and making a criminal complaint of its own.
In a statement, the group said: “BookMyShow has no association with any ticket selling / reselling platforms such as Viagogo and Gigsberg or third-party individuals for the purpose of reselling of Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India.
“Scalping is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India. We have filed a complaint with the police authorities and will provide complete support to them in the investigation of this matter.
“We urge you not to fall victim to these scams. Any tickets bought from unauthorised sources will be at the risk of the consumer, and can turn out to be fake tickets. Beware of such scammers.”
The complaints against BookMyShow
Vyas, the founder of the Vertices Partners law firm, which has practices in three Indian cities, has filed a complaint with Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing. In it, he accuses BookMyShow and Live Nation of committing organised crime, cheating, and criminal breach of trust.
Vyas, according to Medianama, argues that the two companies conspired with each other to wrongly black market the tickets for the Coldplay gigs on Viagogo. The breach of trust allegation is that BookMyShow, as the exclusive ticket seller for Coldplay, “dishonestly misappropriated” the tickets in violation of their legal obligation to sell them.
Vyas further claims that tens of thousands of bots were allowed to circumvent the virtual queue for tickets. The complaint argues that even users who only had 30 people ahead of them in the queue were unable to buy tickets.
The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of a political party, has also filed a complaint with the Economic Offences Wing. It accuses BookMyShow and its management of money laundering and cheating up to a value of $60m in connection with ticket sales for the Coldplay concert.
In his complaint, BJYM member Tejindar Singh Tiwana urged the authorities to launch proceedings against the directors and key managerial officials of BookMyShow under laws pertaining to illegal practices in ticket distribution as well as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
He added: “Fans purchasing tickets through the official website or mobile app were stuck in virtual queues. Those without the special links were completely excluded, allowing black marketers to sell tickets at exorbitant prices. This malpractice has helped BookMyShow earn nearly Rs500 crore.”
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