Coachella, Culture, and the Cost of Belonging

Hannah Gan

18 Apr 2025 • 4 min read

Last fall, Coachella tickets went live. As always, the internet buzzed with excitement. Influencers and fans alike rushed to secure their spots. But while Coachella remains a cultural mainstay and bucket-list event, it also raises critical questions about affordability, access, and the state of our culture and economy.

The Price of Entry: More Than Just a Ticket

General admission to Coachella ranges from around $549 to $649 before fees. Add in transportation, lodging, outfits, food, and drinks, and you're easily looking at $2,500 to $7,000 for the full experience. For someone with a “normal, respectable job”—the kind our parents might have encouraged us to pursue—this represents a significant chunk of monthly income. If you're making $4,750/month (the U.S. average for white-collar workers), this is over a third of your income spent on one weekend.

And yet, people continue to attend. In fact, nearly 60% of Coachella ticket buyers used a layaway plan in 2023, breaking payment into installments to make it more accessible. It’s a fascinating stat—because it shows just how determined people are to be part of the experience, even if it requires financial gymnastics to get there.

And yet, people continue to attend. Why?

Cultural Currency: The Influence of Influencers

Coachella isn’t just a music festival; it’s a cultural event, a fashion runway, and for many, a branding opportunity. Influencers are paid to be there. Brands host extravagant parties and activations. Content creators generate endless streams of TikToks, Reels, and Instagram stories, all feeding into a cultural loop where presence equals status.

For those not being paid to attend, the festival becomes aspirational—something to save up for, dream about, and curate online. The rise of "Instagrammable moments" has elevated Coachella into something more than music: it's now a symbol of access, aesthetic, and lifestyle.

🎯 The Festival as a Marketing Machine

Coachella has become a massive commercial playground. The festival grounds and surrounding Palm Springs area are packed with brand activations from companies like Revolve, American Express, YouTube, Celsius, and NYX. Some brands even host invite-only parties that are harder to get into than the festival itself.

As a marketer, I’ll admit—I kind of love this part. I’m fascinated by how brands show up. Peering into the creative strategy behind these activations is fun, and honestly, attending them can be a great time. From a professional standpoint, there’s a lot to learn. The level of detail, the partnerships, the storytelling—it's impressive.

But even with that appreciation, I think it's important to acknowledge what this evolution says about the festival itself. According to Ad Age, brands spend millions on their Coachella presence. In 2023, Revolve brought in over 1,000 influencers for its off-site event alone.

That kind of investment shifts the center of gravity. Coachella is no longer just a destination for fans—it’s a full-blown marketing machine. One where the product is often perception, and the goal is virality.

🎤 Music Takes a Back Seat

And here’s the other shift: the music is no longer the main attraction. The lineup still matters—at least on paper. But increasingly, it feels like background noise to the fashion, photo ops, and parties.

Some attendees don’t even see the headliners. In fact, a Vice article from last year described the festival as a "dystopian influencer playground," with guests more focused on getting content than catching sets. Rolling Stone recently referred to this shift as the rise of the “festival industrial complex,” where the experience is curated for cameras more than crowds.

It’s wild to think that a festival that once helped launch the careers of indie bands and breakthrough artists is now dominated by fashion drops and collabs. And maybe that’s just the natural evolution of events in the age of social media. But it’s still worth asking: is this adaptation progress—or are we losing something essential?

A Reflection of a Broader Economic Divide

The conversation around Coachella isn’t just about music or marketing—it’s about access. Many Gen Z and Millennials are struggling with student debt, rising rent, and fewer opportunities for wealth-building than previous generations. According to Bloomberg, young adults today are earning less than their parents did at the same age, even with more education.

So when you see someone spending thousands to attend a festival—or getting paid to go—it reflects a deeper divide. The influencer economy rewards visibility and aesthetics. The rest of us? We’re often just paying for a seat at the table.

So, Why Do We Still Care?

Despite the critiques, Coachella persists—because people still crave communal experiences. They want to dance under the desert sky, dress up with friends, and be part of something big. That desire is human, real, and valid.

And if you’re lucky enough to go—whether as an attendee or an insider—it’s okay to enjoy it. But it’s also okay to pause and think critically about what it means, what it costs, and what it says about where we are as a culture.