You Should Probably Get Used to Influencers Going to Coachella
The internet calls the music festival the “Influencer Olympics.” If ticket prices continue to soar, that nickname will stick.
This past weekend we celebrated two national champions. Scottie Scheffler won the Masters, and Alix Earle won the Influencer Olympics. Becoming a PGA Pro and winning the most coveted championship in all of golf takes incredible skill, and so does amassing 6.6 million followers, securing an exclusive brand partnership to attend the Coachella for free, and posting 19 videos throughout the weekend.
On Sunday morning, veteran beauty YouTuber James Charles posted a TikTok of himself getting ready for Day 3 of Coachella, telling viewers he was “over [the festival].” He explained he was exhausted from filming content all day Saturday for four different social accounts. James emphasized that he loves his job and “is not complaining.” But still, he complained.
Attitude aside, James has a point. After all, Coachella has become the hub for brands to throw parties and host influencers in luxurious desert homes. There’s opportunity and pressure everywhere to create content, earning its nickname the Influencer Olympics among creators.
This past year, Coachella experienced something unfamiliar — slow demand. Weekend one tickets took one month to sell out. Weekend two tickets are still available to purchase. In 2015 (the year that Madonna kissed Drake on stage) tickets for both weekends sold out in 40 minutes. While some blame the influx of influencers in attendance for the decline in ticket sales, it’s actually an industry-wide problem. Other music festivals have raised their ticket prices, and on top of flights, hotels, and criminally overpriced burritos and cocktails, it’s an arm and a leg to spend on one weekend.
But every year, it’s important to think about why so many influencers go to Coachella and how it might dictate the futue of the festival. If Coachella continues to become more expensive and more brands leverage their influencer marketing budgets, then Coachella will become the ultimate content creation opportunity first, and music festival second.
How TikTok made Coachella an influencer destination
In 2018, the year that Beyoncé, Eminem, and The Weeknd headlined the festival, the now-defunct GenZ shopping application Dote made its debut as one of the first brands to host a group of YouTubers on an all-expenses paid trip to Coachella. In attendance was the iconic influencer friend group Emma Chamberlain, Ellie Thumann, and Hannah Meloche, who all grew large followings together over that year.
Naturally, the Coachella trip drew a great deal of attention to Dote. Even if no one knew what it was, Dote was associated with being the brand that took teenage influencers to Austin, Coachella, and Fiji on luxurious trips. But not all of the press around Dote was positive. The shopping application was ridden with controversy after several BIPOC influencers who had been invited on past trips with Dote came forward about how they were treated differently than the white creators, including being forced to sleep on a separate side of the house in the desert and being intentionally photographed less than the other girls in Fiji.
Aside from Dote, 2018 was a turning point for activations at the festival. Every brand wanted to create some kind of Instagrammable moment for influencers and regular attendees alike. Sephora had a giant tent offering hair and makeup touchups, Levi’s threw its annual brunch pool party and sponsored the star-studded Neon Carnival afterparty, and online clothing retailer Revolve threw a mini-festival with performers A$AP Rocky, Snoop Dogg, and 21 Savage.
2019 saw similar activations. But that was the last Coachella for three years, and in 2022, the festival returned with a completely different tone. The rise of TikTok during the pandemic and the new strategies of influencer marketing brought new brands and creators to the festival.
While brands such as Revolve brought back Revolve Fest on a bigger scale, and Kendall Jenner’s 818 tequila and Celsius energy drinks are throwing Coachella side events, brands who haven’t previously been able to activate through an event at the festival have leaned into hosting their own trips during the weekend.
An all-expenses paid influencer trip is one of the best ways to build recognition around a brand or product launch. It’s unlikely that an influencer who receives a PR package from a company will post about the product. But if they’re flown in a private jet to a fancy house in the desert for four days, and are gifted hair and makeup products, outfits, and accessories for the festival, it’s nearly impossible for them to not post about the brand. Their Coachella content is coveted and highly anticipated by viewers from across the world.
This year, some of the most prominent brand trips were Supergoop, Kopari Beauty, Tarte Cosmetics, and Guess, who rented out resorts and homes for influencers to spend the weekend creating content around Coachella. Prebiotic soda brand Poppi did things differently though — Alix Earle, who’s risen to fame as one of the most popular social media influencers, got her own “Coachearla.” She was gifted a stay for her and her friends at a luxury desert house during the festival to tease the launch of the soda brand’s new lemon-lime flavor.
Driving to the desert to take a couple of Instagram photos
While Coachella’s reputation as an influencer-heavy event has been prominent across social media, it has always been an event for actors and actresses, models, and other musical artists to attend. It’s a place to see and be seen, and people love to let their followers know that they’re attending. So much so that sometimes, they fake their Coachella attendance.
Last year during Coachella, one of the earliest TikTok influencers Loren Grey shocked the internet when she shared that many influencers who claim to be at Coachella don’t go. They drive to the desert for three days and dress up in elaborate outfits to take pictures and videos, claiming they’re going to the festival, and never do.
More recently, YouTubers Tana Mongeau and Brooke Schofield confirmed this phenomenon on their Cancelled podcast, explaining it’s always been something that influencers have done.
“I for some reason just assumed this was common as public knowledge,” said Tana. “I guess because we see it all the time,” said Brooke.
Because Coachella is an annual event that lends itself to content creation opportunities, influencers feel a need to capitalize on the virality of the festival. Many creators see an uptick in views, likes, and comments when they attend Coachella, so for some, it may be worthwhile to fake attending the festival. Influencers also have the opportunity to be seen by other brands at the festival — in person and on social media — to help themselves secure a sponsored experience for the next year.
Will the Influencer Olympics see another year?
Let’s be honest — influencers haven’t actually ruined Coachella. The festival typically sells all 250,000 of its available tickets, and most of them are purchased by the average festival goer.
While ticket sales slumped this year, it’s unfair to say that influencers are to blame. After all, Coachella raised its ticket price $50 from 2022. The cost of attending the festival alongside high travel and lodging costs have likely contributed to its slow sales.
However, this may be the exact thing that will make Coachella an influencer-heavy event down the line.
Many creators that attend these trips have nearly all of their expenses paid for by the brands that invite them. Ticket prices will likely increase in the coming years, making it more realistic for wealthier individuals — and brands with influencer marketing budgets — to be the ones to purchase tickets for the festival.
A brand trip to Coachella is also a fantastic opportunity for influencers to create content. Three days of photos and videos at a luxurious desert compound will likely draw a lot of attention on social media, allowing a brand to reach far and gain new customers.
No matter how you feel about it, get ready to see even more influencers attend Coachella. Because brands keep driving revenue for the festival, and viewers at home keep driving revenue for the brand.