• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won

3

NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'

1

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'

2

Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won

3

NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
Tech

Music festivals are selling out as YOLO-mania takes over post-pandemic

By
Martine Paris
Martine Paris
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Martine Paris
Martine Paris
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 30, 2021, 7:00 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Summer has barely begun, yet every large music festival announced for 2021, and many for 2022, have sold out in record time and at higher prices than prior to the pandemic. After more than a year of lockdowns, music fans are ready to party and are racing to book “you only live once” YOLO adventures.

At the top of the bucket list are lavish VIP experiences that include Michelin-starred bites, free-flowing Dom Perignon, spa treatments, and private performances. For an industry that raked in $10.9 billion in U.S. live music revenue in 2019, according to PwC, strong demand bodes well for a quick recovery.

Caviar anyone?

That certainly seems to be the case for BottleRock, a festival in Napa, Calif. that sold out in under two minutes for all ticket types, including 500 platinum passes priced at $4,350 each, and 90 suites that cost up to $100,000 a day, co-producer Justin Dragoo told Fortune.

Set in the heart of Northern California’s wine country, the three-day festival will welcome 40,000 attendees daily over Labor Day weekend and will feature 80 artists across five stages, including top acts like Megan Thee Stallion and Foo Fighters. Buyers of VIP packages will be wined and dined by celebrity chefs and can socialize with the bands.

“We offer four premium tiers and are seeing unprecedented interest,” Dragoo said. “People want to spend on these meaningful once-in-a lifetime experiences.”

Across the bay in San Francisco, there’s Outside Lands, which holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s top-grossing music festival. (Coachella, near Palm Springs, Calif., held the title until it stopped reporting financials in 2018.)

The three-day Outside Lands bacchanal will host 70,000 people daily in Golden Gate Park over Halloween weekend. Special experiences include Grass Lands, a legalized marijuana area sponsored by cannabis delivery platform Eaze, and Find Your Festie, a game to help attendees make friends, sponsored by the dating app, Bumble.

And while Outside Lands took two hours to sell out (except for its top-tier tickets, which are getting a revamping), its sister festival, Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas sold out in just 40 minutes, according to Allen Scott, co-founder of Another Planet Entertainment which produces both shows.

“There was so much demand for Life Is Beautiful, we could have easily sold a second weekend,” he said.

Room for more

As luck would have it, Life Is Beautiful and the iHeart Radio Music Festival wound up getting booked for the same weekend, in the same city, with the same headliner—–Billie Eilish. But iHeart’s co-producer John Sykes, cofounder of MTV and chair of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, said he’s unfazed.

“We don’t see them as competitors. We produce our tentpoles, not just for the 14,000 people in the arena, but for the millions who listen on the radio, watch on television, and enjoy the livestream,” said Sykes. “Doing our shows on the same night illustrates how strong demand is for live music right now.”

Yet boom times for large festivals may mean more hustling for smaller shows.

Jordan Kurland, co-producer of San Francisco’s Noise Pop, a small club festival, and former producer of the now defunct Treasure Island Music Festival, is cautiously optimistic. He manages bands Death Cab For Cutie, Postal Service, She & Him, Best Coast, Tori Y Moi, and The New Pornographers.

“Not every festival that’s gone on sale has sold out—outdoor shows are moving more quickly than indoor ones—and we’re beginning to see crowding on the calendar,” he said. “If you announced six weeks ago, shows were selling faster than ever, but now every band in the world is trying to get back on the road and it seems like a glut is inevitable.”

Whether a shakeout happens depends on the market and how cleverly producers innovate.

Another Planet presents 700 shows annually, mostly in San Francisco, the nation’s third-largest concert market. With that volume of events, Kurland said independent clubs have started to install cameras to allow for paid livestreams.

Unfestivals are also gaining in popularity like Park City Song Summit taking place Sept. 8 to 12 in Utah. There, fans are paying up to $2,500 each to gather in intimate venues to connect with artists like Mavis Staples, Father John Misty, and Fred Armisen while sharing stories in the round.

A new dawn

“It’s going to be three years since we had a Coachella, having been cancelled twice during the pandemic,” said Gary Tovar, founder of that festival’s producer, Goldenvoice. “When it returns next spring, my sense is that people will have a greater appreciation for how magical an experience it truly is.”

Primavera Sound, also postponed twice, plans to make up for lost time next June in Barcelona with 10 days and nights of performances by the world’s biggest bands, culminating in a massive celebration on the beach.

“These events are always known for their energy which is quite palpable at a 60,000 person festival where you can hear the roar of the crowd and feel that vibe,” said Tom Russell, co-producer of The Governors Ball, New York CIty’s big summer music festival that got pushed to the fall. “We’re entering an incredible time of musical output as folks had time to write a lot of songs during the past year. With so much coming, it’s an exciting time to be a consumer.”

Lollapalooza, which kicks off the season at the end of this month in Chicago,  is expecting 100,000 fans daily over four days. Its co-producer, Charlie Walker said: “What we’ve learned from the pandemic is that the live experience is irreplaceable, and fans are more excited than ever to be back. So many of our upcoming festivals including Austin City Limits and Bonnaroo are already sold out, and from what we can tell with current ticket sales, 2022 will be a non-stop year that continues roaring into 2023 and beyond.”

Correction (July 1, 2021): This article was updated to clarify that iHeart’s John Sykes was previously cofounder of MTV.

Subscribe to Fortune Daily to get essential business stories straight to your inbox each morning.

About the Author
By Martine Paris
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

China sanctions 10 U.S. defense companies in tit-for-tat response to Pentagon’s Chinese military list
North AmericaChina
China sanctions 10 U.S. defense companies in tit-for-tat response to Pentagon’s Chinese military list
By The Associated PressJune 22, 2026
1 hour ago
Elon Musk to get a billion shares of SpaceX if he can settle a million humans on Mars
Startups & VentureElon Musk
Elon Musk to get a billion shares of SpaceX if he can settle a million humans on Mars
By Catherina GioinoJune 22, 2026
1 hour ago
Thibault Sottiaux, Head of Core Product and Platform OpenAI, speaking.
AIOpenAI
OpenAI’s new ‘super app’ boss hopes to persuade users and potential IPO investors that the company is about way more than just chat
By Beatrice NolanJune 22, 2026
2 hours ago
Americans are fleeing the U.S. at record rates—an ex-Google engineer who left India to build a $7.2 billion AI firm says they’re making a mistake
SuccessView from the C-Suite
Americans are fleeing the U.S. at record rates—an ex-Google engineer who left India to build a $7.2 billion AI firm says they’re making a mistake
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 22, 2026
3 hours ago
Forget speed: L’Oréal’s innovation chief says AI rewards companies with history
EuropeL'Oreal
Forget speed: L’Oréal’s innovation chief says AI rewards companies with history
By Francesca CassidyJune 22, 2026
4 hours ago
Europe must take opportunity to ‘dream bigger’ if it’s to seize its innovation moment
Magazineeuropean economy
Europe must take opportunity to ‘dream bigger’ if it’s to seize its innovation moment
By Francesca CassidyJune 22, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
Success
Former U.S. Secret Service agent says bringing your authentic self to work stifles teamwork: 'You don’t get high performers, you get sloppiness'
By Sydney LakeJune 21, 2026
1 day ago
Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
Success
Former VP Kamala Harris says she went through a nine-hour interview to land the job—but she couldn’t escape ‘gold medal depression’ even when she won
By Emma BurleighJune 21, 2026
1 day ago
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
Success
NBC’s Tom Llamas climbed from 15-year-old intern to the top anchor chair—and still isn’t satisfied: ‘If you're not growing, you're dying'
By Preston ForeJune 21, 2026
1 day ago
'I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out': a record 51% of Americans aren't 'cost secure' on health
Health
'I literally was crying last night because I’m nervous about what I’m going to find out': a record 51% of Americans aren't 'cost secure' on health
By Ali Swenson, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux and The Associated PressJune 20, 2026
2 days ago
Tenzin Seldon: The GLP-1 boom is the biggest climate story no one is pricing in
Commentary
Tenzin Seldon: The GLP-1 boom is the biggest climate story no one is pricing in
By Tenzin SeldonJune 21, 2026
1 day ago
Ezekiel Emanuel: My father lived into his 90s. He understood something many successful men miss
Commentary
Ezekiel Emanuel: My father lived into his 90s. He understood something many successful men miss
By Ezekiel J. EmanuelJune 21, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.