'Dil-Luminati Tour was the biggest tour in India'

Time of India

28-05-2025

'Artistes like Diljit aren't dependent on today's data metrics'
He's selling out stadiums. People feel major FOMO for missing his concerts. He's been at Coachella, on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the Met Gala — the
Diljit Dosanjh
phenomenon has gripped not just Punjabi audiences, but people across the world.
He's no longer just a Punjabi artiste; he is Punjab.
So when Sonali Singh, CEO of Ripple Effect Studios — the company that manages Diljit Dosanjh — spoke with Gurpreet Singh, she was clear, 'He is who he is today because he's worked consistently over the last two decades.'
'Our vision has always been clear. We jump into things first, then figure out how to reach the goal,' she said, speaking about the Diljit phenomenon.
'I had no choice but to take things into my own hands when a major label didn't sign Diljit'
As part of the Shows of India conclave, Sonali Singh spoke on the theme From Punjab to the Planet: The Diljit Phenomenon, sharing how it all began, the consistency behind the success we see today, and the numbers behind the much-discussed Dil-Luminati Tour.
'I was friends with Diljit when I was with a music label. I later moved to another music company in Mumbai and started helping him with some projects where he didn't have anyone based in the city. From there, it became my full-time job,' she shared.
'I always believed he was extremely talented — so much so that I personally went to the label I was working with and said, 'This artiste is really talented. He's going to explode.
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Why don't you manage him?' But they were already occupied with other talent and declined. That's when I had to start on my own. I believed in him.'
She went on to describe how they self-produced the Born to Shine Tour with the help of other partners and an international events promoter.
'When you have conviction in your vision and goal, you just jump in — and that mindset comes from Diljit.' 'We had some past experiences with international promoters that didn't work out the way we expected.
We had no choice but to do it on our own. One day we sat down and said, 'Humein nahi pata kaise hoga, but let's do it.' That's how we did Born to Shine independently, self-produced.
"We had just three months to prepare. We didn't even know how to book venues — we just jumped into it. That's how one of the biggest international event promoters came on board. It was their first time working with an Indian artiste. Because it was their first time, they didn't invest.
They said, 'You invest, and we'll come on board as promoters.' Luckily, we had a strong rapport with a music label. They gave us a huge cheque because they wanted to work with Diljit — and that's how we organised the tour, disrupting the desi promoter scene entirely.
Now, that same model is used by everyone,' Sonali explained.
'Artistes like Diljit aren't dependent on today's data metrics'
Explaining why streams and digital data don't always justify the relevance of an artiste like Diljit, Sonali said, 'These things are subjective — it depends on who's publishing the story, who's leading the narrative.
Today you have numbers and streams, but five years ago there was no real medium to share that information — and even then, Diljit was selling out markets. He was relevant then, and he's relevant now. But what really matters is consistency over two decades.
That kind of journey isn't defined by current streaming metrics. It can't be justified by those numbers. He's been consistently working for the past twenty years.'
S
o what was the turning point in his journey? 'Yeh kaafi metaphorical jawab hoga,' Sonali said. 'Socho, you've planted a seed in the soil. Suppose it's a mango tree — one day it bears fruit. How will you decide this is the day the mangoes appeared? Even on the days when nothing is happening, when things feel like they're falling apart — you remain consistent. Every single day over those 20 years mattered to where he is now.
'
When asked about the numbers behind the much-discussed Dil-Luminati Tour, Sonali said the tour was the biggest Indian tour to date in terms of numbers. 'I want to tell you — we're still waiting for the final reports to be published — but very confidently, Dil-Luminati India Tour was the biggest Indian tour in terms of numbers in the history of Indian live shows,' she said.
'The sad thing about data and published reports is that it depends on who gets to tell the story. Our reports haven't been published yet, because every single detail — across all cities — takes time. I don't know how others publish such reports so quickly. That's the sad part about this data — narratives can be built without checking the facts,' she said.
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