Headline Roundup • April 14th, 2025
60% of Coachella General Admission Tickets Purchased Through Payment Plans
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Coachella Festival kicked off on April 11, and approximately 60% of general admission (GA) tickets were bought through a payment plan, according to Billboard (Left bias).
The Details: GA tickets cost $600 each, but fans could purchase them for a down payment of $49.99 plus a $41 fee.
For Context: Coachella Festival is owned by AEG, and this year featured headliners such as Green Day and Lady Gaga. Other major festivals like Lollapalooza, Electric Daisy Carnival, and Rolling Loud sell a majority of tickets through financing plans as well. “Buy now, pay later” options on incidental purchases have become more common in recent years, sparking criticism and concern from several prominent media outlets.
How The Media Covered It: The story was not widely covered by mainstream political media, though Billboard’s report was widely discussed on X. A post about the report from conservative influencer Collin Rugg received over 7 million views in 12 hours on April 14. Billboard highlighted that $41 is 8% of the face value and “far cheaper” than a credit card fee. The Barstool Sports Blog (Center) called the ticket financing “peak America 2025.”
Other Coachella Headlines: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) appeared onstage before Clairo’s set to speak out against President Trump and the “billionaire class,” prompting split media coverage. The Daily Mail (Right) and New York Post (Lean Right) ran coverage highlighting fans’ anger at high prices and poor logistics at the festival. The Post reported concession prices such as $23 Red Bull vodkas, $15 beers, and meals “around $20 to $30.”
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Featured Coverage of this Story
Tens of thousands of music fans will descend on the California desert this weekend for the first of two iterations of the Coachella Music and Arts festival outside of Palm Springs, Calif.
Approximately 80,000 to 100,000 fans each weekend will have coughed up the $599 ticket price to see headliners Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Green Day and Post Malone. But ticket price is often just the cost of entry — many of those fans will spend more than a $1,000 per weekend on lodging and cough up hundreds of dollars more for food, drinks and...
If you’re financing your festival tickets, honestly, who cares? You gotta flex that carefully staged Instagram shot in front of the Ferris wheel somehow, right?
Nothing screams financial stability like throwing a $49 down payment on a $600 ticket, then praying your direct deposit hits before your third installment bounces.
You wouldn’t want your Instagram followers knowing the ugly truth right? That your credit score barely qualifies you to rent a scooter, let alone pretend you’re a VIP at Coachella.
I think we’ve done it folks.
This.
This story right...
Getty Images for Coachella
Overpriced, inedible concessions at Coachella have outraged critics who are calling out the music festival for being a “money trap” as hundreds of thousands descended on the Southern California desert.
One influencer claimed she spent over $100 for her meal consisting of tacos and lemonade on the first night of Coachella on Friday, which pop megastar Lady Gaga headlined on the festival’s main stage.
Ruth Viveros, who has chronicled her experience in Coachella Valley since Friday, shared a glimpse into the food at the famous music festival.
