Tag: Coldplay

  • Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India

    Coldplay ticket scalping fiasco sparks backlash in India

    British rock band Coldplay’s upcoming tour of India has triggered a police investigation and dismayed fans after scalpers bought up cheap tickets to resell online for more than $1,000 apiece.

    Thousands of music fans tried and failed to buy tickets for three concerts scheduled in financial hub Mumbai next January, sold by popular Indian online ticket portal BookMyShow.

    All three shows sold out in minutes, and those who missed out were infuriated when they saw $70 (6,000-rupee) tickets appear on resale websites at vastly inflated prices.

    “The tickets are being sold at 10 times, 20 times, 30 times the price that is being sold on the website itself,” student Anna Abraham, 19, told AFP.

    “I wouldn’t feel good about it myself if I knew that I paid for something 30 times more than what I could have paid for.”

    Local media reports said BookMyShow’s chief operating officer was questioned by police Monday after a complaint brought by Mumbai lawyer Amit Vyas, who claimed the vendor was working with “black marketeers” to make an extra windfall on ticket sales.

    “I checked with nearly 100 people who I know are regulars at concerts, none of them had gotten a ticket,” Vyas said, according to the Indian Express newspaper.

    “This made me suspicious. I then decided to approach the police as I knew that something was amiss.”

    BookMyShow issued a statement after the public backlash began last week, saying it had “no association” with unauthorised ticket selling.

    “Scalping and black marketing of tickets is strictly condemned and punishable by law in India and BookMyShow vehemently opposes this practice,” the company said.

    Controversies surrounding tickets for major international musical or sporting events are not new.

    US megastar Taylor Swift lashed out at Ticketmaster in 2022 following fan anger over sales to concerts staged for her globe-spanning ‘The Eras Tour’.

    The debacle sparked debate over the Ticketmaster’s privileged position in the industry amid fan complaints of hidden fees, rampant ticket scalping and limited tickets due to presales.

  • Coldplay lauds Pakistan’s initiative to give tree-planting jobs to unemployed workers

    Coldplay lauds Pakistan’s initiative to give tree-planting jobs to unemployed workers

    Pakistan’s initiative to help daily-wage workers who have been laid off due to the COVID-19 lockdown by giving them jobs planting trees has caught the attention of British rock band Coldplay who has remarked that the idea is “amazing”. The tweet has been marked CM which stands for Chris Martin.

    The program which was set in motion after Pakistan went into lockdown in late March has been hailed across the world. Under the initiative, unemployed day labourers have been given new jobs as “jungle workers”, planting saplings as part of the country’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme.

    Read more – Naya Pakistan: Govt starts paying unemployed people to plant trees

    According to the World Economic Forum, such “green stimulus” efforts are an example of how funds that aim to help families and keep the economy running during pandemic shutdowns could also help nations prepare for the next big threat: climate change.

    The ambitious five-year tree-planting programme, which Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan launched in 2018, aims to counter the rising temperatures, flooding, droughts and other extreme weather conditions in the country that scientists link to climate change.

    Meanwhile, Federal Minister and Adviser to PM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s official Twitter handle thanked Coldplay for acknowledging the government’s efforts and invited them to visit Pakistan once the pandemic is over.

  • Amjad Sabri features in Coldplay’s latest album

    Amjad Sabri features in Coldplay’s latest album

    British band Coldplay has released a new album titled Everyday Life and it features the late qawwal Amjad Sabri.

    In an interview with Entercom, the band’s lead singer Chris Martin while talking about the second song in the album Church — released as a single — shared the inspiration behind it sharing that the band have incorporated samples from Sabri’s hit track Jaga Ji Laganay into it.

    “There’s two cool other singers on that one. There’s this guy who was a Pakistani singer, called Amjad Sabri. He was sadly murdered by people who didn’t like what he stood for. Then there’s a friend of ours called Norah who is a guy from Jerusalem.”

    Martin described Church as a love song that “fell through the sky,” referring to how the band received inspiration to make a song they think is great.

    Whether Coldplay obtained permission from Sabri’s family to use the track is not known as of yet.

    Meanwhile, Everyday Life has already made it to the top of the Official Album Charts.

    Listen to the song here: