Coachella Festival sees slowest ticket sales in 10 years

[Street Knowledge]

Coachella tickets went on sale on Friday, Jan. 19. And four days later, tickets for the festival’s first weekend are still up for grabs — for the first time in a decade.
For years, the process of snatching up a Coachella weekend pass was like panning for gold: part patience, part savvy and part dumb luck. In spite of steep ticket prices, fans waited for hours in virtual ticket queues, only to learn that they had missed their chance at a wristband. From 2014 to 2022, tickets sold out in a window ranging from just 40 minutes in 2015 to slightly more than 4 hours in 2022.


In 2023, sales cooled slightly, despite the lure of a rare, but ultimately doomed Frank Ocean appearance. That year, tickets for Coachella’s first weekend — the more coveted of the two — took days, not hours, to sell.
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And as of Tuesday, Coachella 2024 ticket sales have fallen behind 2023’s sluggish sales. Tickets for the first weekend are still available at the second of the three price tiers, meaning plenty of passes remain.
One plausible explanation for the slowdown is the festival’s 2024 lineup. The bill, featuring headliners Doja Cat, Tyler, the Creator, Lana Del Rey and No Doubt, has left some fans feeling underwhelmed. But this isn’t a new complaint for Coachella, and it hasn’t kept fans from fighting for tickets in the past.


For comparison, consider Las Vegas’ Lovers & Friends festival, whose dizzying lineup includes Janet Jackson, Usher, Backstreet Boys, Lil Wayne, Snoop Dogg and Alicia Keys among its headliner spots. Or the stacked New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which features Queen Latifah, Hozier, Foo Fighters and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Lineup hype and disappointment are normal phases of the annual festival cycle. The question, then, is how long they’ll last for Coachella.

Coachella Festival sees slowest ticket sales in 10 years

For years, Coachella tickets sold out in hours. Now passes remain days later. Some fans blame the 2024 lineup.

www.sfgate.com

 

[Ol’Otis]

“Damn”-Keefe D

 

[RajWatts]

half the people who go to this blew their salaries on T Swift tickets

 

[Clapsteel O'Neal]

They sold their asses for that dollar.

I would've gone to coachella in the 90-00's out of curiosity. You couldn't pay me to go there nowadays, it's the disneyland of concerts. Same folk going to coachella are going to a talor swift, britney spears, adele or one direction concert. Fucc outta here.

 

[Da King]

Lineup is trash, not rocket science

 

[jmegamar]

Glad I did this in 2014.

 

[Knockout_LR_Freshmart]

Every year there’s usually at least one super-superstar or an artist that’s considered unattainable, this year doesn’t have that.

Tyler might be the only one on this show I’d pay to see live, but it wouldn’t be at coachella prices.

 

[RajWatts]

Dre/snoop/pac hologram and OutKast were the last great shows they could never top those

 

[Piff Perkins]

Terrible lineup. Only one of the headliners is noteworthy (Lana Del Ray). Tyler as a headliner is fine too, but you need a couple more big artists and they whiffed bad.

Maybe there's too many solid/good festivals sniping acts, or maybe the issue is that so many artists are taking 3-5+ years to drop music and it impacts whether they want to do shows or now.

 

[L&HH]

Terrible lineup. Only one of the headliners is noteworthy (Lana Del Ray). Tyler as a headliner is fine too, but you need a couple more big artists and they whiffed bad.

Maybe there's too many solid/good festivals sniping acts, or maybe the issue is that so many artists are taking 3-5+ years to drop music and it impacts whether they want to do shows or now.

The real question is are we running out of superstar acts? I mean who’s the hot new artist from the last 3 years or so that could really move the needle?

 

[RichYung]

The real question is are we running out of superstar acts? I mean who’s the hot new artist from the last 3 years or so that could really move the needle?

There’s superstar acts…. But the ticket that they’ll demand would be legit insane….. as far as “New” artists? They ain’t packing that shyt out

 

[Piff Perkins]

The real question is are we running out of superstar acts? I mean who’s the hot new artist from the last 3 years or so that could really move the needle?

Every Coachella headliner and lineup poster since the California festival began

Throughout its 26 years, the desert festival has led with the biggest names in music. Inga Parkel runs through Coachella’s entire history of star-studded headliners since 1999 ahead of the 2025 event

www.independent.co.uk

Outside of the first year in 1999, their headliners and major acts have largely been established artists. Heavy hitters basically. Last year was a disaster with the Frank Ocean fukkery, and it seems like they didn't secure anyone noteworthy. There are certainly a lot of big name bands or rap artists who could do it but that's why I wondered about availability and album cycles. Bringing Kendrick back for instance...would he turn it down since he doesn't have an album out? Would Jay-Z turn it down for the same reason? That's a new development for headliners because looking at that list...most of those previous headliners didn't have a new album dropping soon.

 

[Knucklehead]

At the end of the day it’s still gonna sell out.
At this point everyone who wants to go to Coachella has already been and it’s a huge headache getting in and out and wildly expensive if you don’t want to camp. There’s also a ton more music festivals all around the country and world where you can see the same acts.

 

[Malcolmxxx_23]

No heavy hitters

 

[L&HH]

Every Coachella headliner and lineup poster since the California festival began

Throughout its 26 years, the desert festival has led with the biggest names in music. Inga Parkel runs through Coachella’s entire history of star-studded headliners since 1999 ahead of the 2025 event

www.independent.co.uk

Outside of the first year in 1999, their headliners and major acts have largely been established artists. Heavy hitters basically. Last year was a disaster with the Frank Ocean fukkery, and it seems like they didn't secure anyone noteworthy. There are certainly a lot of big name bands or rap artists who could do it but that's why I wondered about availability and album cycles. Bringing Kendrick back for instance...would he turn it down since he doesn't have an album out? Would Jay-Z turn it down for the same reason? That's a new development for headliners because looking at that list...most of those previous headliners didn't have a new album dropping soon.

Yeah but some of these major artists are doing their own world tours and headlining other festivals. In the late 90’s Coachella was the only major festival of its type in the game. Without new acts to keep things fresh then articles like this get written.