Is Coachella About The Music At All Anymore?

Coachella is known for being one of the biggest music festivals in the world, with thousands flocking to the desert over two weeks to see acts perform and get the chance to explore to Coachella universe. But how many of those people are actually going for the music? And yes, of course a lot of people are there to see the headline acts such as Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber, but are those acts just a little bonus to a festival that now seems to be the unofficial influencer Olympics?

I will hold up my hands and say that the content influencers and brands create at this festival is what I love most about Coachella weekend. It’s very rare that I am excited to see the performance the acts will put on (in saying that, I did stay up for the JB performance, but that’s a different story), my main focus during that weekend is refreshing my Instagram to see what the celebs are wearing and judging them while sat at home in my pasta-stained pyjamas. If I am being completely honest, other than Sabrina, Justin and of course the Irish acts like CMAT and Jazzy, I had no clue who else was playing.

That’s when it occurred to me – Coachella is the one festival that is meant to have the biggest artist stage, yet we don’t really pay much attention to the music. I began to ask myself if I was given the chance to go without knowing who the lineup was, would I still go? And to my surprise I found myself saying yes… which if you know me is a shock because I am picky about who I would pay money to see.

 

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Recently dubbed the influencer Olympics, Coachella is more than just a music festival, but rather one of the biggest events in the celeb calendar. We eagerly wait to see what our favourite influencers and celebs will wear that year, and what will be the next fashion trend for the rest of the festival year. With content being pushed out to extreme levels over the weekend, Coachella seems to be more of a work opportunity for these influencers than a fun festival getaway.

It’s no longer about them being excited to go see their favourite artists but more about how many more followers they can reach over that weekend. And listen I am in no way judging at all, I have discovered some of my favourite influencers from Coachella outfit run downs, I just find it interesting how we still call the festival the biggest in the music industry, when it has drifted far from that.

Not only is it a chance for influencers to promote themselves, but the weekend also acts as a huge marketing stage for brands. The days prior to Coachella we get to see content creators enter these huge mansions in Palm Springs for gifting suite events. Brands like Revolve and White Fox host these events this year, where creators can come in and pick up products that are genuinely worth hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Revolve, for example, had brands like Levis, Phlur plus many more, with reports saying that influencers invited were given $2,000 to spend. Just imagine having something like this for Electric Picnic or any other festival – absolutely unheard of!

 

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We even see brands hosting pre-Coachella parties. Take Rhode for example, they hosted an event titled Rhode World, where they invited creators to pop by for some drinks and a look around at their new collection in collaboration with Justin Bieber. And once I heard about this, I won’t even lie, I was more excited to see what it was like than I was about some of the performances that night.

This commercial takeover isn’t necessarily a totally bad thing and is something that was bound to happen in this digital age. But the question is, should we bring the focus back to music before Coachella becomes a festival that is only reserved for those with a following over 50k?

Some TikTok users are remembering a time when Coachella was only about music, and what a simpler time it was. There wasn’t a queue for pictures by the iconic wheel, or areas filled with people standing still in a crowd. It was a genuine chance for die-hard fans got to see their dream artist live.

While I would hate to see an end to the Coachella content, I love scrolling through all the outfits and pre parties, I just wonder would it be so bad to rein in all the marketing strategies for one year and just let the festival be what it was originally created for. No big brand deals, no mega gifting suites – just a chance to celebrate the best music from the industry while having fun in the hot sunny Californian desert.