Buy Coachella Tickets 2017 2021
Coachella showcases popular and established musical artists as well as emerging artists and reunited groups. It is one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States and the world.[4][5] Each Coachella staged from 2013 to 2015 set new records for festival attendance and gross revenues. The 2017 festival was attended by 250,000 people and grossed $114.6 million. Coachella's success led to Goldenvoice establishing additional music festivals at the site, including the annual Stagecoach country music festival beginning in 2007, the Big 4 thrash metal festival in 2011, and the classic rock-oriented Desert Trip in 2016.
buy coachella tickets 2017
After scouting several sites for their festival,[6] Tollett and Goldenvoice co-president Rick Van Santen returned to the Empire Polo Club during the Big Gig festival in 1998. Impressed by the location's suitability for a festival, they decided to book their event there.[8] The promoters had hoped to stage their inaugural festival in 1998 but were unable to until the following year.[9] On July 16, 1999, Goldenvoice announced that the Indio City Council had approved the festival and would provide $90,000 for services such as traffic control and public safety. The funds came with a guarantee of repayment from the promoter, as the city was keen to avoid incurring another loss; the previous year's Big Gig festival cost Indio $16,000 due to last-minute changes to the lineup and poor attendance.[11] The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was officially announced on July 28 with a preliminary lineup of 40 acts;[12] tickets went on sale on August 7.[13]
Coachella's announcement came just one week after the conclusion of Woodstock '99, a festival in July 1999 that was marred by looting, arson, violence, and rapes. Goldenvoice's insurance costs increased 40% as a result and the company faced uncertainty regarding Coachella's tickets.[9][14] Organizers were already aiming to provide a "high-comfort festival experience" for Coachella but rededicated themselves to those efforts after Woodstock '99. Advertisements boasted free water fountains, ample restrooms, and misting tents.[14] Retrospectively, Tollett called the decision to announce a new festival just two months prior to staging it "financial suicide".[9]
Tickets sold for $50 for each day; about 17,000 tickets sold for the first day, and 20,000 for the second,[16] falling short of the overall attendance goal of 70,000.[18] Attendees were offered free parking and a free bottle of water upon entrance.[16] The event went smoothly, with the well-behaved crowd starkly contrasting with the violence that plagued Woodstock '99; the biggest challenges to Coachella concertgoers were temperatures exceeding 100 F and the decisions of which of the 80-plus acts to attend.[17][18][19] The festival was well regarded among attendees and critics; Pollstar named it festival of the year, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said that it "laid the foundation for what someday may be a legacy of its own".[20][21] However, Goldenvoice lost $850,000 on the undertaking,[22] forcing the promoter, in Tollett's words, to "struggle for almost two years to survive as a company".[23] Prominent acts, including the headliners, agreed to receive deferred compensation.[24]
In 2008, Coachella did not sell out for the first time since 2003. It featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson. Waters' inflatable prop pig flew away during his set.[22] The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million,[46] but lost money, due to tickets not selling out and high booking fees paid for Prince and Roger Waters.[8][24]
Organizers eliminated single-day ticket sales for 2010, and instead instituted a new policy offering three-day tickets only,[49] which drew mixed reactions.[50] Headliners included Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz, and reunions of Faith No More and Pavement.[51] Despite Tollett's reservations about holding a festival in 2010 due to the economy,[52] Coachella drew 75,000 spectators each day that year, for an estimated aggregate attendance of 225,000, surpassing previous records.[53] Thousands of fans broke through fences, leading to concerns about overcrowding.[22] The festival grossed $21,703,500.[54] International travel was disrupted by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, resulting in some European acts, such as Frightened Rabbit, Gary Numan and Delphic, canceling their appearances at the festival.[55]
On May 31, 2011, Goldenvoice announced that beginning with the 2012 festival, Coachella would be expanded to a second, separately-ticketed weekend, with identical lineups for each.[60] Explaining the decision, Tollett said that demand for tickets was up in 2011 even after "operations weren't the best [they've] ever had" in 2010 and that he did not want to satisfy that demand by allowing additional attendees to overcrowd the venue.[61] Rolling Stone called it a "very risky move" and said there was "no guarantee that demand [would be] high enough to sell out the same bill over two consecutive weekends".[60] Nonetheless, 2012 tickets sold out in less than three hours.[62]
The 2012 festival featured headliners the Black Keys, Radiohead, and a twin billing of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.[22] During the latter's performances, a projection of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur appeared on-stage [63][64] (a voice actor performed his introduction lines) and began performing "Hail Mary" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted".[65] Although the media referred to the technology as a "hologram", the projection was in fact created using the Musion Eyeliner system, which employs a version of Pepper's ghost.[66][67] Following the performance, the projection disappeared. Dr. Dre had asked permission from Shakur's mother Afeni, who said the next day that she was thrilled with the performance.[68] A projection of deceased singer Nate Dogg was also planned, but Dr. Dre decided against it. The 2012 festival grossed $47,313,403 from 158,387 paid attendees across the two weekends; 80,726 tickets were sold for the first weekend, and 77,661 for the second.[69]
Prior to the 2013 festival, it was announced that Goldenvoice had reached a deal with the city of Indio to keep the Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals there through 2030. As part of the agreement, Indio's per-ticket share of revenue would increase from $2.33 per ticket to $5.01.[70] Headlining the 2013 festival were Blur, The Stone Roses, Phoenix, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.[71] General admission tickets sold for $349, a $34 increase from the previous year.[72] The festival grossed $67.2 million in ticket sales and was attended by 180,000 people, making it the top music festival in the world.[73] In July 2013, Goldenvoice finalized a $30 million purchase of 280 acres of land surrounding the Empire Polo Club, including the 200-acre Eldorado Polo Club. The land, previously leased from Eldorado, will be used to provide more space for parking and general use for the festival.[74] Tollett said the purchase was intended to "help [Goldenvoice] put in some infrastructure so [they] don't have to keep coming back and do the same things each year".[75]
In January 2017, reports circulated that AEG owner Philip Anschutz had donated to many right-wing causes, including organizations promoting LGBTQ discrimination and climate change denial.[86] The news led to calls for fans to boycott the festival.[87] Anschutz decried the controversy as "fake news", saying he would never knowingly contribute to an anti-LGBTQ organization and would cease donations to any such group of which he became aware.[88]
Organizers of Coachella manage its carbon footprint by partnering with the organization Global Inheritance to promote several environmentally friendly initiatives. Global Inheritance's original project was its "TRASHed :: Art of Recycling" campaign, which challenges local artists to design and decorate recycling bins that are placed across the festival grounds.[146] Another program is "Carpoolchella"; launched in 2007,[146] it rewards festivalgoers who carpool in groups of four or more and display the word "Carpoolchella" on their cars by entering them in a drawing to win VIP tickets for life.[147] Through the 2014 festival, the program had 140,000 participants and more than 70 winners of lifetime festival passes.[148] In 2007, Coachella teamed up with Global Inheritance to start a 10-for-1 recycling program, in which anyone who collects ten empty water bottles receives a free full one. In 2009, the festival introduced $10 refillable water bottles, which purchasers could refill at water stations inside the festival and within the campgrounds.[149] Other programs used at the festival include solar powered DJ booths and seesaws used to charge mobile phones.[146]
Organizers were initially resistant to accepting sponsorship deals that would help Coachella turn a higher profit. In 2003, Tollett estimated that Goldenvoice could earn an additional $300,000 to $500,000 by adding a corporate sponsor to the festival name, but he did not want to violate the purity of the event. He said, "I hate it when you go to shows and you are bombarded with all this advertising. It just shows a lack of respect for your audience and the music."[23] Organizers have relaxed their opposition over the years. Brewing company Heineken N.V. has maintained a sponsorship with Coachella since 2002, and is the "official brew" of the festival.[161] The company has sponsored a small performance venue at the festival called the "Heineken House" since 2014, where attendees can drink Heineken beers and keep their cases of Heineken refrigerated.[134] Clothing retailer H&M added a small sponsored tent on the festival grounds in 2015,[162] where attendees could purchase items from the company's Coachella-inspired clothing line called "H&M Loves Coachella".[163] Information technology company HP has sponsored the Antarctic dome since 2017,[138] in addition to hosting a promotional tent.[164] HP's promotions included allowing attendees to design and print bandanas and tote bags, capture light drawing GIFs, design kaleidoscopes, and interact with a motion-reactive wall.[138][164] Tollett still objects to having the primary stages and tents sponsored: "I wouldn't let sponsors' logos on the stages. I feel like when the band is playing it should be you and the band, and it's a sacred moment."[9] 041b061a72