{"id":398891,"date":"2026-04-18T15:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T15:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/398891\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T15:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T15:40:08","slug":"how-coachella-became-a-moneymaker-for-creators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/398891\/","title":{"rendered":"How Coachella Became a Moneymaker for Creators"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEvery year, for two weekends in April, a small patch of desert in Indio, California becomes the hottest ticket in the country. Most people know it as Coachella, a once-scrappy music festival<\/a> first held in 1999 that\u2019s grown into one of the biggest festivals in the world. But online, thanks to the sheer amount of money poured into creator marketing, there\u2019s a much simpler name for it: the influencer Olympics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThis weekend, an estimated 375,000 visitors will file in <\/a>to see headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, and Karol G. But their experience at the campgrounds isn\u2019t just about having a fun time; it takes the online economics of creators<\/a> and gives it a real-life presence. Since Coachella<\/a> hit its stride and its first years of profitability in the late 2000s, the festival has touted its celebrity artists and visitors, with celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Vanessa Hudgens popularizing an entire era of bohemian Coachella style. But beginning in 2011, festival execs wove brands into the event, building and encouraging more pop-ups, sponsored parties, and activations. And where the brands are, creators will follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tCoachella began as an \u201canti-Woodstock,\u201d<\/a> a trial run for the idea that a festival could give concertgoers a smooth, curated experience. Now the symbiotic relationship between brands and influencers is part of the very structural makeup of Coachella. The festival\u2019s campground runs on layers of exclusivity, which have consistently increased online interest and engagement. For creators, it can be the biggest payday of the year. Coachella didn\u2019t invent the influencer \u2014 but it\u2019s making them a whole lot of cash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJustine O.<\/a>, a creator with over 300,000 followers on TikTok, has been posting behind-the-scenes content on what it takes to be an influencer since 2023, explaining everything from how to book your first brand deal to picking a management team. She\u2019s attended the festival three times. The first time, in 2024,\u00a0 she made no money, but was given two VIP tickets and had transportation, hotel, and food covered for herself and a plus one. In 2025, she got all of the above in addition to $25,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cCoachella is definitely a business,\u201d she<\/a> tells Rolling Stone. \u201cI think that influencers realize and brands realize how many eyes and how much commentary is made about Coachella \u2014 especially as it\u2019s become more influencer focused. Brands are really capitalizing on that. Brands are paying creators to go and engage and that is why it has become a business opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tCreators aren\u2019t the only ones who are cashing in. From a marketing standpoint, a brand may pay a creator thousands of dollars for the event or give tickets in exchange for sponsored posts. But with engagement rates on Coachella-related content continuing to grow every year, a single post from an influencer in the desert could grab more social impressions than an entire month of consistent marketing from a brand\u2019s team. \u201c[Most brands have] a heavily influencer dependent marketing strategy at these events. It\u2019s bringing a cohort of influencers with you and having as much content captured as possible,\u201d says Sarah Pollack, the VP global head of consumer marketing at Pinterest<\/a>. \u201cThey\u2019re generally looking at things like impressions as a measure of success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut attention also means the potential for controversy. This year, commenters aimed most of their ire at influencers who attended a pop-up from Starbucks pop-up, which has been consistently under boycotts in the past two years for alleged anti-union and anti-Palestinian actions. People online understand that when influencers post videos about brands at Coachella, they\u2019re probably doing it for money. And if they\u2019re doing it with a brand people dislike,\u00a0 it can feel like a betrayal. One of the most popular videos<\/a> skewering these creators was a skit from Benton McClintock, who jokingly posted that he was attending Coachella with Lockheed Martin. His comments mimicked how many average TikTokers felt watching the Coachella content roll in. \u201cOMFGGG I\u2019m staying in the United Healthcare claim denial mansion \u2013 see you there!!,\u201d wrote one TikTok user. \u201cGuyssss! The department of war wants to take me to Coachella!,\u201d wrote another.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\tWith Coachella well known as such a moneymaking event, brand approaches to the festival are evolving. Some are pulling back from working with multiple creators and instead focusing on one or two big names. That can be difficult for creators who don\u2019t make the cut. Days before the first weekend, several creators revealed that they had been uninvited from the festival by brands \u2014\u00a0linking their cancelled invitations to growing demand from brands to get the most bang for their buck.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tEmmy Hartman, 26, has been a content creator since she was 17, when a video of her having an emotional breakdown in her car went viral. \u201cKarma got its kiss from me,\u201d she cried as she described the problems plaguing her day: a ticket from the cops, puffy eyes, and a bald spot. Even with 2.3 million followers on TikTok, she was excited when a brand reached out and invited her to the festival. (Hartman declined to name the brand.) They described the deal, laid out the content required, and called the agreement \u201clocked in.\u201d And then the week of the festival they cancelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI understand,\u201d Hartman says. \u201c I was excited. I love music and I love music festivals. But it\u2019s not the end of the world.\u201d Hartman notes that the engagement around Coachella isn\u2019t just about people inside the festival, it can extend to activations outside the campgrounds. \u201cI still went down there for the weekend,\u201d she added. \u201cThere\u2019s still so much to do that\u2019s also content.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\tBut for influencers who land brand deals, the event can be an enticing combo of networking access, perks, and fun. Micky Gordon\u2019s has been to Coachella before, but this year was her first as a brand trip. On TikTok, her 1.1 million followers called it \u201cMickychella\u201d and followed along as soda brand Poppi paid for Gordon and 10 plus ones to stay the weekend in an AirBnB they called the \u201cMick Mansion.\u201d She tells Rolling Stone it\u2019s the first time she\u2019s ever understood the title of the influencer Olympics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think creators really want to attend because it\u2019s one of the only weekends where music, fashion, brands, and community all collide,\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019re creating, you\u2019re networking, and it\u2019s major visibility with some of the best brands. And bonus; you can justify multiple outfit changes per day! I feel extremely lucky to call this my job.\u201d<\/p>\n