Coachella has become the biggest festival in America — and it rewrote the live music playbook in the process. Katie Bain, Billboard’s senior music correspondent, director of Billboard Dance, joins Billboard On The Record to break down how a scrappy desert show founded by then-local promoter Goldenvoice turned into a global cultural force, from the early Pearl Jam experiment to era-defining performances by Beyoncé, Daft Punk and Frank Ocean. She dives into the high-stakes gamble of booking a lineup, the business behind ticketing, sponsorships and livestreams and how moments like Radiohead’s 2006 set and Beyoncé’s Homecoming shifted the festival’s identity from alt-rock roots to global pop dominance.
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Billboard On The Record is a podcast in partnership with SickBird Productions.
0:40 – Meet Katie Bain, author of Desert Dreams: The Music, Style & Allure of Coachella
1:06 – How tough is it to cover Coachella as a journalist?
2:31 – Katie’s must-sees for 2026 Coachella
3:37 – How lineup booking is basically gambling — and Sabrina Carpenter’s full circle moment
4:24 – Coachella’s origin story: Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster & the Empire Polo Club
6:14 – How the US festival scene barely existed when Coachella launched
7:00 – Woodstock ’99 was a disaster — and Coachella tickets went on sale the next day
8:22 – How did the first Coachella actually go?
9:03 – The turning points: Radiohead 2006, two weekends, and the YouTube livestream
10:07 – Why headlining Coachella is the second biggest stage in music (after the Super Bowl)
10:52 – Beyoncé’s Homecoming: the show that shifted Coachella toward pop headliners
12:52 – Coachella’s rock roots: Rage Against the Machine, Tool & Beck
13:10 – Daft Punk’s pyramid set: how it changed live music production forever
15:02 – The arms race for production value — and why tickets cost so much
15:55 – When did Katie first go to Coachella? The Prince story
17:00 – How Prince called Paul Tollett two weeks out to negotiate merch splits
18:05 – Brands, Revolve Fest & satellite events: does it overshadow the music?
20:47 – Ticket prices: from $50 in 1999 to $600 GA today
20:53 – 60% of GA attendees use a payment plan — what does that say?
22:01 – Are music festivals less popular post-pandemic?
22:28 – Why independent festivals are dying: tight margins, radius clauses & Live Nation
23:41 – Taylor Swift & Oasis: the artists who skip festivals entirely
24:50 – What is a radius clause and why does Coachella’s hurt younger artists?
27:07 – LCD Soundsystem’s reunion at Coachella — and how AEG made it happen
27:47 – Coachella’s greatest reunions: Pixies, OutKast, Guns N’ Roses & more
28:45 – The infamous OutKast weekend one — and Prince’s pep talk to André 3000
30:01 – The Coachella poster: why font size and billing order are a big deal
30:26 – Negotiating the livestream — artists used to say no to it
31:15 – Frank Ocean’s controversial 2023 headlining set — a defense
35:06 – How Skrillex, Fred Again & Four Tet replaced Frank Ocean on the ice skating rink
37:28 – How climate change is impacting music festivals: Burning Man, Bonnaroo & beyond
39:30 – Force majeure explained: the festival contract clause nobody talks about
41:30 – Coachella Mount Rushmore: Rage, Daft Punk, Beyoncé & the Pixies
42:53 – “No Skips” rapid fire: Coachella survival tips & pro advice
47:06 – “What Would You Queue?” closing game
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#Beyonce #FrankOcean #KarolG #JustinBieber #SabrinaCarpenter #Coachella #Coachella2026 #BillboardOntheRecord
The Business of Coachella: High-Stakes Booking, Ticketing and Festival Economics | On the Record
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I was at Daft Punk 🩵💚🩵
21st comment 5.8k views 🎉 Great vlog 👍
6:30 Coachella followed the blueprint of the way more iconic Lollapalooza without touring
Just bought her book!
Great interview!!!!
That first Radiohead performance was 2004 not 2006. I was there and I’ll never forget it. I work on the Coachella livestream crew now.
Bieber singing along to his old videos. $5000 a ticket. Half the artists are miming while the crowd are all on mobile phones. Did I mention Coachella funds the MAGA movement through its Republican billionaire owner Philip Anschutz? No thanks.