Twelve years.\u00c2\u00a0 The first Coachella was 1999.\u00c2\u00a0 Is there a label today that would put that much time into a band?<\/p>\n
Not that there weren’t indicators of success, not that it was an endless money pit, but it wasn’t until this year that it was clear…<\/p>\n
It doesn’t matter who plays the festival.<\/p>\n
Attendees trust Paul Tollett to put on a good show.\u00c2\u00a0 They expect a modicum of stars with a plethora of barely heard ofs who may not ever be heard from again.\u00c2\u00a0 Coachella is no longer act dependent.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s become a cultural institution.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about being there.<\/p>\n
And now it’s clear that more people want to be there than can be accommodated.\u00c2\u00a0 Ergo, the second weekend.<\/p>\n
And we can debate all day long whether it’s a good idea.\u00c2\u00a0 I would have had completely different bills, made it two separate events, because by utilizing the same acts, the aura of the festival is diminished.<\/p>\n
But that’s not the point.<\/p>\n
The point is people will lay down their hard-earned cash for events.<\/p>\n
Yes, the music business has become event marketing.<\/p>\n
Very few acts can do stellar business all by their lonesome.\u00c2\u00a0 And so many of those only for a brief period of time.\u00c2\u00a0 But roll a bunch of acts together and…\u00c2\u00a0 1+1=3.<\/p>\n
But it’s not as simple as the bill.<\/p>\n
The venue’s got to be special.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t replicate Coachella in a ballpark.\u00c2\u00a0 No one’s going to pay money to go to a stadium without hearing who’s playing first.<\/p>\n
But Coachella is like a vacation.\u00c2\u00a0 The weather should be good, it’ll be a good hang, I’m in.<\/p>\n
How many Coachellas can there be?\u00c2\u00a0 How many festivals can North America support?<\/p>\n
Probably as many as have unique venues.<\/p>\n
So, what we’ve learned here is:<\/p>\n
2.<\/span> Location is not as important as the venue, which must be special.\u00c2\u00a0 Coachella is not easily accessible.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, there’s an airport in Palm Springs, but flights are limited and Los Angeles is hours away.\u00c2\u00a0 People will trek for that which they perceive to be desirable.\u00c2\u00a0 People come from all over the world to go to Coachella.<\/p>\n 3.<\/span> Radio is not important.\u00c2\u00a0 Although Tollett has peppered the festival with flavors of the moment, they’re just icing on the cake, they’re not the draw, one can argue that they’re not even necessary.\u00c2\u00a0 Coachella-goers are not casual fans, music is a key element of their lives.\u00c2\u00a0 They not only listen, but debate it.\u00c2\u00a0 They hunt out new acts.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re open, unlike the people who radio phones in callout research.<\/p>\n 4.<\/span> Although Kanye played Coachella, the festival is the anti-Dr. Luke.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about beats, except for the electronic music played in "tents".\u00c2\u00a0 Could Coachella have been as successful in the last century, during the MTV era?\u00c2\u00a0 Probably not.\u00c2\u00a0 Then we were spoonfed a limited amount of product.\u00c2\u00a0 Today, the field is wide open.\u00c2\u00a0 Fans don’t care if an act is on a major or puts the music out themselves, they don’t care if it’s got the imprimatur of the mainstream or not.\u00c2\u00a0 Coachella is the everything’s up for grabs festival.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s it’s appeal.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s where you go to hear something new.<\/p>\n 5.<\/span> Improve.\u00c2\u00a0 After every festival Tollett apologizes for the snafus and promises to rectify them the following year. Complaints are heard.\u00c2\u00a0 There is not an us versus them mentality.\u00c2\u00a0 The feeling is we’re all in it together.<\/p>\n 6.<\/span> Scale.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what this is about.\u00c2\u00a0 If there can be two Coachellas can there also be one in Europe and another on the east coast and a winter one in South America that fans will fly to see, never mind the locals?\u00c2\u00a0 Yes.\u00c2\u00a0 Coachella is a brand. Brands stand for dependability, you get what you expect, plus more.\u00c2\u00a0 A band is not a brand.\u00c2\u00a0 A band, when done right, gives you the unexpected.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s about faith more than trust.\u00c2\u00a0 But Coachella is a place where artists can strut their stuff.<\/p>\n 7.<\/span> Beyond Coachella.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what the YouTube broadcast was about.\u00c2\u00a0 If only it had been curated!\u00c2\u00a0 Like the old days of MTV!\u00c2\u00a0 But with more credible talking heads directing viewers to great performances, both anticipated and expired.\u00c2\u00a0 You want to spread the discovery.\u00c2\u00a0 The best band I saw on the Coachella YouTube feed was Monarchy.\u00c2\u00a0 They far outstripped the other performances of the evening that I watched.\u00c2\u00a0 The key is to point people to the best performances and keep them accessible, to foster discussion, to build these acts.\u00c2\u00a0 But this year’s simulcast was a good start.<\/p>\n 8.<\/span> You can camp at Coachella or stay in a high end hotel.\u00c2\u00a0 Like an airplane or Burger King, you get to do it your way.\u00c2\u00a0 This is brilliant.\u00c2\u00a0 Furthermore, this division of status and choices is off site.\u00c2\u00a0 On site, to a great degree, it appears everybody is in it together.<\/div>\n You can make a ton of money at a festival.<\/p>\n Or lose your shirt, and the shirt of the person next to you and the shirt of the person next to him.<\/p>\n But by controlling the venue, by making the upside so large, you avoid so many of the issues of the single show.<\/p>\n It would be great if we could build a plethora of new arena acts.<\/p>\n But at least we’re building new places to see acts.<\/p>\n There is demand.\u00c2\u00a0 Tollett is trying to satiate it.\u00c2\u00a0 One can argue the details, the bills, whether business will be great next year, but pat him on the back for building it and continuing to take risks.<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Twelve years.\u00c2\u00a0 The first Coachella was 1999.\u00c2\u00a0 Is there a label today that would put that much time into a band? Not that there weren’t indicators of success, not that it was an endless money pit, but it wasn’t until this year that it was clear… It doesn’t matter who plays the festival. 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