Creating inclusive music & entertainment for people with disabilities

It feels like the world only recently discovered that we Indians love music. We especially don't mind paying for the privilege of watching our favourite global superstars live in concert. I say watching because today’s concerts have become about more than just the music; they are about the experience. 

From synchronised light-up wristbands to giant props and fireworks, concerts featuring global superstars have become a feast for the eyes, just as they are for the ears. 

So how are they being made accessible to their visually impaired fans, of which there are quite a few in India? As someone born visually impaired who enjoys live entertainment, this is something I’m genuinely interested in.

It turns out that there are popular international bands who have put in significant thought into making their concerts inclusive. Among other things, they offer backstage touch tours before the show to help guests visualise the costumes and props as well as live audio description tracks to describe everything happening onstage. 

For people with disabilities generally, offerings include everything from accessible seating to quiet rooms for those who need a break. I understand that most of these initiatives do make it to our shores as well. So is it fair to state that these mega-concert experiences in India are inclusive? Well, it depends.

In order to enjoy all the inclusive initiatives these concerts promise, one needs to first make it to said concert.  Recently when a noteworthy band announced their India tour, I was excited to attend and experience all they did to make their concert inclusive. 

When I tried booking tickets, though, I realised the app was not accessible to my screen reader software. Try as I might, I couldn’t even select my preferred concert date.

By the time I got help and managed to clear the booking screen, I was hopelessly behind in the queue. It is no surprise then that I couldn’t get tickets. As I read through the experiences of concertgoers abroad, I found out that popular global bands do provide accessible ticket booking resources in other countries. 

With that hope, I wrote to the band to highlight that I couldn’t even get past the booking page on my own. Their response was surprising.

Among plenty of standard yet fascinating concert accessibility information in the automated response, they stated the following. 

“Please refer to the dedicated accessible information within the event booking page of the authorised ticket retailer, as we are unable to assist with accessible tickets via this email address.” The only useful information I could locate within the dedicated accessible information section was the email ID I just wrote to.

Inaccessibility is a problem in many forms of entertainment, especially outside the home. From movies, music and sports to plays and even shopping.

Consider the number of players involved in making something as basic as a movie theatre experience accessible. Most of us think of the movie’s content and leave it at that. 

Right from the online booking platform to the multiplex chain and even the mall it’s located in, it should be fully accessible for the visually impaired moviegoerto even independently make it to their seat. A house of cards built with each player’s commitment to accessibility, ready to tip over at one slight lapse.

As I contemplated ways to get the ecosystem to take responsibility, inspiration struck from an unexpected place. EV batteries. Waste, especially electronic waste, is a global problem. 

Tackling it is difficult because the folks generating everything from plastic bottles and electronics to cars are rarely held responsible when these products reach the end of their useful lives. 

To bring change, governments around the world are adopting EPR. EPR, or Extended Producer Responsibility, as a concept states that a brand will be held responsible for recycling or disposing of a commodity equivalent to the quantity it sold.

An electric vehicle brand, for example, would be responsible for recycling the equivalent volume of batteries as they sell in a given period. What’s interesting is that the brand would be held responsible even if someone else manufactures the battery as long as sales happen under their brand. 

This ensures that they’ve got skin in the sustainability game. We could take a page from the EPR playbook. While every player in the entertainment ecosystem should prioritise an accessible experience, one entity should take responsibility for holding this house of cards together.

Quite a few questions come up. First, which entity? This may be up for debate. In my view, it should be the headline performer or brand. After all, everything comes together for them. 

Also, which players would be covered? While the list of players involved in a concert may be rather long, I believe any player with a financial relationship with the headline performer critical to the concert experience should be covered. 

I believe socially responsible superstar performers are a great place to start. They can leverage their clout to effect real change on an ecosystem that gives them so much.

It is important to recognise that India’s live events industry is on an upward trajectory driven by a young population, rising disposable incomes, and a growing appetite for live experiences. 

As this industry grows, the potential to embed accessibility as a core principle is immense, making entertainment more inclusive while also expanding audience bases in a meaningful way.

In a country like India, where enforcement of accessibility standards is arduous and inadequate, such actions would do more to bring players, including booking platforms and venues, up to standard. 

As more international artists realise our potential and land on our shores, this is the best time to start having these conversations. After all, when you try your best and you don’t succeed, that is when something needs to be fixed.

(Preetham Gandhi Sunkavalli is the Deputy General Manager of Brand Marketing at Godrej Consumer Products Limited. He is also a member of the Godrej Industries Group’s DEI council. Outside the office, he strives to help fill the education and career gaps for visually impaired youngsters through mentoring and volunteering efforts.)