Is buying a ₹3 lakh Coldplay ticket worth it?

As I write this article, there is an insane amount of hype around the upcoming Coldplay concert in Mumbai, with some people reportedly paying lakhs to buy a ticket. Now, even if you don't care much about rock bands (like me), you might have heard that British rock band Coldplay is scheduled to tour India in January 2025.

Social media sites are full of stories about people paying astronomical sums to get their hands on a ticket to watch their favourite band performing live. There are also stories of fans waiting a whole day in virtual queues on booking websites, only to be disappointed at the end.

Some are crying foul over how some people allegedly bought tickets through less-than-fair means and are selling them at more than 10 times the official price. One popular booking site has even filed a police complaint against those illegally ‘scalping’ the tickets and reselling them via unauthorised websites at inflated prices.

Outrageous as it is, let's leave aside the ethical debate on the so-called scalping and unauthorised reselling. What I'm more interested in is this: How can someone shell out several months' worth of earnings on a single concert ticket?

To be honest, I haven't even watched a cricket match live in a stadium, let alone a rock concert. Even though I love watching cricket, I prefer to do so from the comfort of my home.

I have nothing against those who watch live matches or concerts. I get it… watching something live is way better than watching it on TV or YouTube. The atmosphere and energy or a live performance can never be matched by a recording or live telecast.

There's a popular saying: ‘Spend on experiences, and not on things’. The implied meaning is that experiences are more likely to enrich your life than things.

On the surface, there seems to be some merit to that argument. Buying more stuff just makes you seem more materialistic. On the other hand, buying an experience, like a vacation or an adventure activity, could be rejuvenating or even transformative.

However, people spending 10 times or more the official price to buy something makes me curious about the thought process behind such decisions. Are they really deriving that much value from that purchase or are they falling into the trap of FOMO and YOLO? For the unacquainted, that's Gen-Z speak for ‘fear of missing out’ and ‘you only live once’.

Buying a concert ticket for ₹3 lakh may make sense for a crorepati. But does it make sense for a 20-something earning 10 lakh a year? I really don't know.

To me, money is about the exchange of value. And value has to be determined based on a set of rational principles. It is never a good idea to make decisions out of FOMO, YOLO, BOGO or any other fad with a four-letter acronym. Believe me, I too bought into the crypto craze of 2021 and lost a significant amount of money when the bubble burst.

If the history of market bubbles, Ponzi schemes and pump-and-dump frauds has taught us anything, it is this: When people leave out reason while making money decisions, sooner or later money decides to leave them.