Meghalaya generated a revenue of ₹133.5 crore from the seven major concerts it hosted last year against an investment of ₹23.5 crore, according to chief minister Conrad Sangma.
On Saturday, Sangma said the concerts, held over a span of 13 days, were attended by 3.86 lakh fans, generated more than five times the amount invested, created 5,500 jobs per day, and attracted music lovers from 20 states.
He was launching Season 3 of the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project, now renamed the Chief Minister’s Grassroots Music Production (CMGMP), on World Music Day in Shillong.
Last year’s concerts featured global stars such as Akon, Boney M with Maizie Williams, DJ R3HAB and Bryan Adams. This year, Ed Sheeran and Mr. Big performed in February, giving a significant boost to the state’s profile as a destination for big-ticket concerts.
At the event, Sangma also announced two major concerts as part of the Cherry Blossom Festival, to be held in Shillong on November 14 and 15 this year, reflecting the government’s efforts to further strengthen the state’s concert tourism economy.
The two concerts will be headlined by Jason Derulo, a leading American singer-dancer, and The Script, an Irish rock band.
In a post on X on Sunday, Sangma was bullish about the music “movement” in the state. “Had the privilege of launching Season 3 of the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project, now reimagined as the Chief Minister’s Grassroots Music Production (CMGMP) on #WorldMusicDay. This is not just a name change. It’s a movement,” he wrote.
He added: “What started with ₹3.5 crore and 2,500 artistes has grown into a ₹69 crore initiative supporting over 5,400 artistes and 38,000+ performances across Meghalaya. And now, CMGMP becomes a permanent, structured programme, with fixed venues, training in music theory, and deeper support for music production.”
Neighbouring Assam also approved a concert tourism policy in May.
Stating that Assam wants to enter into a “healthy competition” with Meghalaya, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had posted on X: “Developing a concert economy in Assam. The cabinet has approved the ‘Policy for Concert Tourism in Assam’ which aims to position Assam as a premier music and entertainment tourism hub to host large-scale concerts and music festivals. Under this policy, state-of-the-art concert venues equipped with world-class light and sound technology will be developed, and Assam tourism will support concerts with required VGF (viability gap funding).”