Posted on 04/07/2024 2:12:00 AM PDT by Libloather
Coachella, the iconic music festival held in the California desert has raised eyebrows this year for all the wrong reasons, leading some to question long-term viability. But experts have reflected on Coachella's poor performance and spoke to Newsweek about the wider state of the music festival industry.
In 2023, it was the first time in 11 years that the festival did not sell out both its weekends and this year it has taken one whole month to sell out the first weekend. Considering over the past few years tickets sold out anywhere between 40 minutes to four hours, some have begun to wonder what has made Coachella less popular than ever.
Not even rumors of Taylor Swift attending this year's festival in April with new beau Travis Kelce have been able to bolster sales.
Some fans slammed the line-up which includes headliners, Lana Del Rey, Tyler the Creator and Doja Cat, and even a reunion by 1990s mega-band, No Doubt, and blamed that for the low sales.
**SNIP**
He attributes issues such as the cost of living crisis as a huge factor that forces people to be more discerning about how they spend their money.
"Coachella is not a cheap festival," he says of the entry-level price of $599 for general admission. That does not factor in the cost of accommodation, as there's no on-site camping and travel to Coachella's remote site at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Admittedly, I’ve never been to a concert. I will put that out there when I say that I cannot imagine what would cause somebody to lay out $200 for some concert tickets when you can just download the songs you like.
” I cannot imagine what would cause somebody to lay out $200 for some concert tickets when you can just download the songs you like.”
Well, Coachella and other similar festivals feature a sort of “party atmosphere” (let’s face it... a “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll” kinda experience that you presumably can’t download)
I guess the guys will pay extra to take a hyped up girl home.
Good, economic self destruction. I hope they cancel it and wake up the fools who think this economy is sustainable.
Three friends and recreational substances of choice 200 dollars
If you never attended a concert, it’ll be hard to explain. I’ll try it with art. Then Trump.
It is one thing to see a painting in a book, online, or a magazine.
But to see the Real McCoy in a museum, up-close, is indescribable. I saw my favorite painting at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It was moving. It’s not a well-known painting so I could get real close, and saw brush strokes and “intent” not visible in high resolution images. It changed me. Not a lot. But I was a different guy walking out of the MFA.
The same is true of live music. An album or video is simply no match for a live show. I agree, $599 is absurd but $200 for a legendary act (The Who, or Paul McCartney, for example) is fair nowadays unless they put on an awful show. The Who and Macca put on GREAT shows. Even downshifting, I’ve seen some great bar bands for a $10 cover that are electric and energetic and better than YouTube. They also renew your faith in the youth of America.
Finally, Trump. We see him on the web, the news, print, you name it. That’s enough for most of us. But a few here have been to rallies where Donald is in person. I’m told, it’s like seeing art in person or McCartney in concert: it’s way better than visual media.
Eagle Courts of Honor, Weddings, Birthday Party’s, Baptisms…they are all better in person. God made us to be social creatures. Sure, some entertainment comes with baggage (I’m good with watching many sporting events on TV for “free” vs battling the bathroom and concessions stands) but in general, there is no substitute for being there live, in living color.
Never heard of 85% of the artist at Cochilla, more so in recent years. I live only 90 miles away and never really even considered going other than 2016 when they had The Desert Trip Festival aka Oldchilla weekends with The Stones, The Who, Dylan..... I doubt too many 45 and older folks have much interest in the acts that show up now, and they have the money to attend.
Plus your 2030 bedtime waits for nobody.
I did a shift in security at my Alberta Royal Museum. It was cool seeing some of the stuff with my eyes. Better than the book for sure.
The concert needs to be free so people can attend. In addition, all food and merch should be free. I would also throw in, white, Judeo/Christian hetero men be banned so that the attendees feel safe.
This concert needs to be funded by the US taxpayer because it is serving the greater good. I mean seriously, if No Doubt and Dojocat are performing, it will a life changing experience for the attendees.
On a lighter note, $66k for a TayTay ticket is nuts, especially since the fans will experience the spectacle via the lens of their cell phone camera. It reeks of white privilege and should be immediately shut down.
Yikes! Are those seats on stage or what?
$66K to see Taylor Swift? I can’t even imagine. The most I ever paid to see a band was about $2k — but that included the tickets, a weekend stay in a B&B and a round trip ticket to London back in 2000. But this was really special band and it was a once in a life time experience.
I was also making serious money working in finance at the time — so it was a drop in the bucket.
Now... unless two of the Beatles came back to life and the band reformed, would I even consider spending money on a band again.
I’ve also seen KISS about ten times, and countless classic punk bands... so my music days are over.
Bidenomics coupled with over-priced events = headed for the rocks in a speedboat. But the problem is the people just fail see how good the economy is as, the Biden fool tools keep squawking on the boob-tube.
The audience and the performer both feed off and inspire each other, creating a mutual experience that creates a bond between those on stage and those in the audience.
This is a lovely example of the interaction I am talking about. It is ten minutes long, and ten years old mind you.
The festival it was recorded at still sells out within HOURS of tickets going on sale. All 80,000 tickets, and they are quite reasonably priced at around 300-500 euro for all 3 days, 8 stages, 120+ bands, plus camping.
People don’t spend money on discretionary spending items when the economy is bad. Maybe if Biden offered a credit plan to buy tickets and a promise to write off the debt, sales might improve.
I wouldn’t pay 66 cents to see Taylor Swift or any of the rest of them. I despise the leftist views of most musicians but beyond that entertainment has become too much of a thing in our country. I count sports as entertainment unless you are the one throwing a ball or catching it.
Amazing. And I thought I was cheap when I didn’t like paying $30 to see artists like Night Ranger or David Bowie.
I have no clue what 66K buys but I suspect it includes backstage passes along with private party invites & who knows what other kinds of what they might define as perks. Absolutely none of which I would have any interest in.
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