Approximately 60 percent of general admission ticket buyers at this year’s festival opted to use Coachella’s payment plan system, which requires as little as $49.99 up front for tickets to the annual concert. The desert festival isn’t alone — Lollapalooza, Electric Daisy Carnival and Rolling Loud all sell the majority of their tickets using some kind of payment plan system.
“Festivals are now marketing a cheap down payment as their main call to action,” the source says. “The messaging is $20 down gets you in the door, or $50 down gets you started. It’s no longer about the artists, or the festival lifestyle — the message is, ‘You can afford this if you act today.’”
The same source told Billboard it’s not uncommon for some fans to have four or five different festival payment plans hitting their accounts at one time. Typically, fans pay as little as $19.99 to get started on a payment plan that’s extended over a period of several months — three months generally for Coachella, since most buying happens after the lineup is announced, which until 2025 took place in early January.
Popular behavior, things like this, make me feel like an alien on Earth.
I understand you need a mortgage for the concession stands too. Then, the performers preach to you about how you should want to eat the rich.
I sometimes feel like the hypocrisy is so blatant that it's almost silly to point it out, like everyone already knows it, they just don't care.
Kinda like when they cut down 10,000+ acres of the Amazon rainforest to build a highway for a global climate summit.
Every time the rainforests are mentioned I remember the stupid predictions they would make in the 90s. If they weren't just fear mongering there wouldn't be any left by now. I was a kid and bought into it. My dad listened to Rush Limbaugh and I heard him to do back of napkin calculations pointing out how absurd they were. He was right.
The bad thing is that because its all political something everyone should care about is not thought about rationally.
Yeah... "capitalism!" Am I right? Its a bit much.
Exactly. I'm sure retired parents will ultimately pay those Coachella bills.
Indeed. I'm convinced the wealth of the US and our spoiled kids are a root issue we have that those that immigrate to this country do not. At least not on the margins. Entitlement. Capitalism is the whipping boy so we can avoid reality. A morally bankrupt society that has lost the plot.
Thankfully there is a movement of younger people desiring to learn about God and the traditions of the church. Its hopeful as it was when I realized how many younger people were in the bitcoin space (younger than me). All is not lost just yet.
We have to be careful about making broad generalizations here. Is the $49.99 upfront a downpayment or a fee? If it's a downpayment, then the lender is basically floating you an interest free loan for a few months. If you are fully responsible and able to pay it off, there's no reason not to do this other than the risk of forgetting.
If it's a fee, then that's crazy. The implied APR would be ridiculous.
Later in the article, there's this quote:
So not sure about the $50 (which I think may just be the down payment), but there's an obscene fee on top of things.
$41 fee on a $600 ticket? That's robbery bro.
The last thing I would want to check though is whether every ticket buyer has to pay a fee, payment plan or not
(I know the article says $41 fee to use the payment plan, but things like that easily get twisted by journalists... for example, if there's a $41 fee to use any kind of online payment, for example. Sorry for nitpicking, I'm just super suspicious of sensationalist articles)
I was talking to my dad about this yesterday when I saw the news. He said he would have been surprised if it was 6% let alone 60%.
with the payment plans available on grubhub i'm not surprised
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/klarna-doordash-payments/
"DoorDash and Klarna partner to offer an eat now, pay later plan"
Wow, in debt for a concert ticket?
How low can society go?
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eh?