Coachella

So here's the thing about Coachella - it's basically the festival that broke the internet before TikTok even existed. What started as a 25,000-person music festival in October 1999 with Beck, Tool, and Rage Against the Machine has evolved into one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States and the world. But honestly, calling it just a "music festival" feels like calling the Super Bowl "a football game."

The festival was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen, organized by Goldenvoice (a subsidiary of AEG Presents), and has been held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California since its inception. And get this - it's held on consecutive three-day weekends in April, with the same lineup each weekend. That's right, they basically run the same festival twice because demand is that insane.

The numbers are wild. The 2017 festival was attended by 250,000 people and grossed $114.6 million. Each Coachella from 2013 to 2015 set new records for festival attendance and gross revenues. We're talking about an event that has fundamentally changed how festivals operate and how people think about music events.

But here's where it gets interesting - and controversial. Social media culture completely transformed the festival, turning it from a modest music festival to a $1+ billion marketing machine. What started as a single-day event for alternative music fans evolved into a six-day festival spanning consecutive weekends, with mainstream artists like Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé drawing bigger crowds by the 2010s.

The fashion aspect has become almost as important as the music. Coachella isn't just a music festival - it's become the world's largest unofficial fashion show, where celebrities and Instagram influencers showcase fashion picks and beauty trends while setting the tone for what's bound to be popular. Companies like H&M have launched entire clothing collections around the festival, and brands treat Coachella as a pivotal part of their marketing strategies.

And yeah, there's backlash. "A lot of people have pointed out that this is the first Coachella where TikTok exists," says one influencer. The criticism is that it's become more about "performing fun for the internet" than actually experiencing music. Some people now joke that your attendance is basically "a transaction for your content."

Food prices at the festival have become legendary - not in a good way. Festival-goers recently shared spending $102 for two plates of three tacos, loaded nachos, and two lemonades, with commenters calling the prices "diabolical". But people keep coming back.

Ever wonder why Coachella has this magnetic pull despite all the complaints? As co-founder Paul Tollett explains about the desert location: "We wanted it to be far. So you surrender. So you can't leave your house and see a couple bands and be back home that night. We want you to go out there, get tired, and curse the show by Sunday afternoon. That sunset, and that whole feeling of Coachella hits you."

That's the secret sauce right there. It's not just about the music - it's about creating an experience so immersive that it becomes transformative, even if you're complaining about $17 lemonades while you're there.