By Lamshwa Nongrum
On May 21st, 2025, the Assam Chief Minister announced the “Policy on Concert Tourism in Assam” which aimed to position that State as a premier music and entertainment tourism hub to host large scale concerts and music festivals. The policy envisaged the development of state-of-the-art concert venues and proposed to support events with Viability Gap Funding. That day, a G-Plus News social media flyer read – Assam ready to be the Concert Capital of India. On December 8th, 2025, international rap star Post Malone will headline a one-night only concert performance to flag off the new policy.
In a nation as diverse, vibrant and culturally effervescent as ours, it often takes something as universal as music to remind us that we are more than the sum of our quotidian anxieties – the small, persistent concerns of everyday life, whether about work, finances, studies or social pressures – which can easily distract us from appreciating the collective strength and beauty that define our spirit. Music, by uniting people across backgrounds and experiences, serves as a powerful antidote to these everyday burdens by reminding us of our shared joys and aspirations. It is in this spirit that a government’s decision to invest in a large-scale music festival deserves not derision, but decisive applause. Because – let us be clear – this is not merely an expenditure. It is an economic multiplier and a developmental strategy dressed in sequins and stage lights.
The world has already discovered the power of music tourism!
The sceptics may wrinkle their noses, but the global evidence is unambiguous. Woodstock, the grandfather of countercultural gatherings, was not just a rock concert – it was a socio-economic phenomenon that turbocharged New York State’s tourism identity and later inspired decades of destination branding. Across the Atlantic, Glastonbury is reputed to add hundreds of millions of pounds to the southwest England economy every time its gates open. What began as a modest farm-side fair now sustains thousands of jobs and draws global media attention. And yes, Glastonbury Festival had received grants from UK Government’s Culture Recovery Fund.
Closer home, Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival stands as the shining exemplar of what strategic government spending can achieve. From generating lakhs of tourist footfall to creating direct incomes for artisans, transporters, homestays, cafés, musicians and micro-entrepreneurs, Hornbill has become not merely a festival – but an economy. Other music festivals like Lollapalooza, Sunburn, NH7 Weekender may be privately run and managed but their success is also tied to the non-monetary support of local governments in the host destinations.
Let us ask ourselves why do people know about Woodstock or Glastonbury or Hornbill? Because festivals immortalised those names! Global recognition derived from competent event-hosting, positions a destination like Shillong as a leader in music festivals, attracting musicians and music tourists worldwide. The festival itself becomes an ecosystem that nurtures musicians, designers, digital content-creators, local artisans, food entrepreneurs and many startup ideas. The spillover-effect extend beyond the venue when tourists visit other parts of the host region before or after the event, generating additional tourism revenue. Successful festivals enhance a destination’s image as vibrant, culturally diverse and most importantly – AS SAFE (something which cannot be overstated). The impact of one major festival on other cultural festivals and offbeat tourist destinations like Ri Bhoi District, which will be hosting the first edition of the Shyntor Festival and North Garo Hills district for the A-We Festival can only be appreciated in time. Yet, there can be no denying that, for a state seeking tourism growth, a festival is a branding instrument par excellence.
Why government spending on music festivals makes economic sense?
Can we dispense with the misplaced moralism that music, youth and festivity are somehow “unworthy” of public investment. That argument is as atonal as a badly tuned guitar.
Music itself is the main motivator for attending festivals and concerts. Consequently, ticket sales conversions are often the go-to metric for gauging the success or failure of a festival. Apart from skill- and capacity-building of local “orange sector” businesses and entrepreneurs in the area, festivals can bring in other significant financial benefits to catalyse local economies. Per-capita visitor expenditure can be substantial, with spends not limited to tickets but going towards food, accommodation and transportation. A festival weekend can cause a Kynrem Falls-esque surge in demand, independent of any financial support received from the Government. For analysis and in the absence of comprehensive and established data, it is posited that a micro-entrepreneur with an annual net-earning of ₹3 lakhs generates approximately 5% of that income over just two festival days. This activity directly results in the creation of additional man-days that would not otherwise occur without the event. While these minute details may not mean much to the salaried class, they can become a critical difference in the lives of self-employed professionals and micro-entrepreneurs.
Yes, critics also argue that the leakages are even more substantial – mainly because event organisers are forced to outsource major elements of the programme to outside firms. But does that not prove the solidity of the economics behind a Cherry Blossom? The issue of leakages, of course, is a topic for another day; but perhaps, simply linking festival funding to MIPP 2024 guidelines might go a long way in plugging the holes.
While avoiding moral debates, one fact stands out – that regions with vibrant cultural events see higher youth retention and entrepreneurship. State support may take the form of a viability gap funding to de-risk a particular project – which is perhaps the major bone of contention for the Festival’s critics – or support can take the form of approvals, permissions, logistics and security support to festival organiser by the local governments of the host destination. The question is, if affluent nations, with their stable economies and diversified industries, find such festivals worthy of state support – financial or otherwise – why shouldn’t an emerging tourism-rich region like ours?
Naturally, organising an event of this scale is rarely flawless and issues like noise pollution, traffic problems, high ticket prices and leakages all highlight several areas in need of improvement. Yet one cannot deny that the event organisers, with the Meghalaya Government’s support, have managed to drag an obscure Tier-II town – legacy flaws, hill-station problems, et al – and put it on par, if not above, metropolises and Tier-I towns in India and perhaps even South-east Asia. For that singular reason, they deserve my applause and the Assam Government’s covetous glances.
Music in Meghalaya has undergone much of its evolutionary journey – from Church choirs and music classes in Missionary schools to fund-raising Rock Concerts and locality fetes; and from college beat contests to music festivals with only local audiences – without much government-funding. Yet, because music continues to serve as the universal language which transcends cultural boundaries, its role in driving tourism demand and enhancing destination appeal has become ever more pronounced. Given the transformative impact that festivals like the Cherry Blossom have demonstrated on tourism economies, a robust case emerges for active government intervention. Put plainly ₹5 crore invested today can generate hundreds of crores worth of economic value and branding the region for decades.
We are witnessing the transformation of music festivals and concerts into engines of economic development and cultural pride while ensuring sustained prosperity and international recognition. A recent Ernst and Young report post- the Coldplay concert at Ahmedabad stated, “…the organized live event segment surpassed the ₹12,000 crore mark in 2024 and is projected to grow at an impressive CAGR of around 19% over the next three years…” Naturally, this motivates other cities and towns to get into the Concert Economy bandwagon. However, the Assam Government’s Concert Policy must serve as our wake-up call. By supporting festivals through targeted funding, the Government can help regions fully harness their tourism potential, ensuring that local stakeholders benefit and that Meghalaya’s destinations remain competitive amidst growing international and domestic rivalry.
It is hoped, therefore, that we do not shoot ourselves in the foot and to potentially, de-rail our long-standing reputation as India’s Rock Capital.
In parting, we are reminded of Bob Dylan’s poetry –
Your old road is rapidly agin’
Please get out of the new one
If you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’
(The writer can be reached at [email protected])
