Today a legal battle between government and the Mysore royal family has seen a ban of commercial activities.

Over the past few years, the palace grounds have been hosts to major music artists like: Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Backstreet Boys, Bryan Adams, Delirious?, Don Moen, Hillsong United, David Guetta, Elton John, Deep Purple, Petra, Textures, Amon Amarth, Lamb of God, Mark Knopfler, Akon, The Black Eyed Peas, The Rolling Stones, Sepultura, Mr Big, Metallica, Megadeth, Michael Learns to Rock, Roger Waters, Guns N' Roses, The Prodigy, Dream Theater, No Doubt, Sepultura, Scorpions, Enrique Iglesias, Machine Head, Cradle of Filth, Jay Sean, Ludacris and Flo Rida.

It marked the first visit of Iron Maiden to the Indian subcontinent, and the first major heavy metal concert to take place in the country.

Jay Sean, Ludacris and Flo Rida performed in Palace Grounds on 22 September 2011 for the opening ceremony of the Champions League T20.

It also featured in Krishna Shah's Shalimar in 1978, an Indo- American film starring Dharmendra, Zeenat Aman, Shammi Kapoor, Rex Harisson, John Saxon and Sylvia Miles.