It might well be the word of the year in India. Demonetization has hit several sectors hard and the effects are there for everyone to see. And from what we hear, music festivals haven’t been as badly affected. And that’s not surprising because, given the nature of a music festival and the number of people congregated in one place, it does make sense to go cashless.
Everybody seems to be prepared. There’s support for the Demonetization initiative forthcoming from Devraj Sanyal, Managing Director and CEO, Universal Music Group, South Asia and one of the names behind the Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival. He shares, “We have seen a rapid acceleration in the online sales which far exceed the loss of the temporary situation. Also, we are the country's only true cashless festival which makes us fully aligned with the government's plans. It's our second year with Glownet, the world's premier cashless provider and we see a pretty bright future for us using technology. We made a bold move last year by making the entire festival cashless and it's worked in our favour. This system adds sophistication and enhances our consumer's journey right from the time he enters the festival till the after-party. Besides, we're facilitating ATMs & accepting all cards to ease transactions.”
Another festival that has a young audience is Vh1 Supersonic. And they’re not too worried either. And here’s why, says Saugato Bhowmik, Head LIVE Viacom18 and Consumer Products, “Our audience has a fair amount of resources at their disposal, that has by and large not been affected by the Demonetization spiral that is happening. Going by the results of our first flash sale of tickets for the festival, we have absolutely not been impacted.
On ground, everything at Vh1 Supersonic will be cashless. There’ll be, therefore, no impact because anything that people want to buy or experience at the festival will be provided through cashless mechanisms. Therefore there is no need for cash. There is only one point of cash that will be required, where credit cards will be accepted. Also, our audience comprises of people who understand payment gateway mechanisms. So we do not anticipate any negative impact of demonetisation.”
Equally upbeat is Cecilia Oldne, Global Brand Ambassador and Vice President, Marketing, Sula Vineyards. She insists that their annual festival in February in Nashik, SulaFest goes cashless -- that there is no need for paper currency at SulaFest at all. Here’s what will happen, she says, “At SulaFest, consumers will be given a device which they can top up with their money and use the device to buy anything at all – at the stalls, counters and anywhere at the vineyards. These devices can be topped up via card payments. And if you need cash at all – Sula has always had provisions for ATMS within the vineyard premises and will continue to.”
Even the recently concluded Eat Play Love, a new entrant in the music festival scene was upbeat. Said Chandni Dhall, Partner , Eat Play Love, “Our vendors tried to keep the offerings as affordable as possible with numerous payment counters set up within the venue to enable cashless transactions.”
Have to say, that should sound like music to the government and the PM’s ears.
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