Justin Bieber spent Coachella on YouTube

Influencers have changed what music festivals look like

One major criticism of Coachella is that it's a playground for ultrarich people, with celebrities and influencers posing for selfies at a polo club. This article dissects the legitimacy of that stereotype and argues that the backlash to it has altered the festival's cultural standing.

Coachella is one of the largest music festivals in the world

Coachella is one of the largest music festivals in the US, though it almost didn't make it past its tumultuous first year. This overview explores how that show inspired the first Coachella in 1999, its early setbacks, and how it grew into a cultural mainstay.

The 2023 lineup featured its first Spanish-language and K-pop headliners

As Coachella moves through its third decade, the festival is continuing to evolve, welcoming its first Spanish-language (Bad Bunny) and K-pop (Blackpink) headliners in 2023.

A typical weekend at Coachella can cost thousands of dollars

Coachella might be a cutting-edge cultural event, but it doesn't come for free. Beyond the high ticket prices—which typically start around $500—there are other costs, like lodging, food, and libations. This article spotlights four attendees who break down their expenses for the week and why, despite the hefty price tag, they were so interested in heading to the desert.

See every Coachella lineup from the festival's 2-plus decades

The unveiling of the Coachella poster has become an annual cultural tradition (and an amusing internet meme). This official collection of every poster from the festival's lifespan showcases the undercard acts that eventually became headliners, as well as the big names that fell into obscurity. The collection shows not only a fascinating illustration of the evolution of pop culture, but also subtle changes in Coachella's design, offering a case study in slowly refining a brand's identity.

Coachella's early years were seen as a success story for alternative culture

From 2007, this oral history of Coachella provides an interesting snapshot of the festival before it became an international attraction. There are interesting stories about the festival's chaotic first year and interviews from artists who frame the festival as a success story for alternative art.

The 30 most popular YouTubers

From music superstars like Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift to streamers like PewDiePie and MrBeast, the ranks of YouTube’s most-subscribed-to accounts includes a mix of everything from celebrities whose YouTube presence complements the rest of their persona to stars who made a name for themselves solely from the platform. This ranking from Search Engine Journal breaks down the 30 biggest YouTube accounts as of June 2004.

Watch Daft Punk's legendary set

Coachella's main stage is known for attention-grabbing performances, but one of the festival's most momentous was on the smaller Sahara stage. That's where Daft Punk brought their huge LED pyramids and played an inventive mix of their past hits—resulting in a reimagining of dance music's approach to live performances.

Goldenvoice, Coachella's promoter, began with punk and gangster rap

This documentary produced by Coachella tells the story of Goldenvoice—a scrappy upstart booking punk, hardcore, and gangster rap shows in Southern California—and how it created one of the biggest festivals in the world. Beyond the narrative, though, this is worth watching for incredible performances from the White Stripes, Kendrick Lamar, Amy Winehouse, and more.

Frank Ocean's 2023 appearance was a notorious catastrophe

Ocean's Coachella performance was one of the most anticipated in the festival's 20-plus years. He was an enigmatic but generation-defining artist, so a headlining set on Coachella's legendary stage seemed like the perfect place for him to reveal the next step in his artistic journey. Unfortunately, it was a slipshod and confusing spectacle—rife with technical issues—and left fans disappointed and confused.

Beyoncé's 2018 headlining set is among the festival's most famous

The singer's admirers dubbed the performance "Beychella"—which included a full marching band and a reunited Destiny's Child. It was a symbol-laden commentary on the significance of Beyoncé's status as the first Black woman to headline the festival.

‘Nipple-gate’ helped spark the creation of YouTube

After Justin Timberlake exposed Janet Jackson during Super Bowl XXXVIII, frustrated viewers searching for clips inspired Jawed Karim and his partners to build YouTube as a platform for sharing missed moments.

How Pearl Jam helped inspire Coachella

Pearl Jam hasn't yet played Coachella, but they did play a major role in inspiring the annual music festival. The story goes back to 1993, when Pearl Jam was protesting all Ticketmaster-owned venues, which made playing a Los Angeles-area date next to impossible. That led concert promoter Goldenvoice to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, where the first Coachella took place six years later.

What happened at Fyre Festival?

Top supermodels and influencers, including Bella Hadid, promoted Fyre Festival—which was supposed to be a luxury music festival on a secluded island—on their social media feeds. But when the people who had shelled out thousands to attend arrived, they found something closer to a horror movie turned survival situation.

The first Coachella lost $1M

Coachella is now the premier live music festival in the US, but it almost didn't survive its financially catastrophic first year, which featured extreme heat and attracted only 50,000 attendees. The festival did not return until 2001—thanks to entertainment company AEG, which purchased Goldenvoice and provided the capital needed to continue.

Coachella produces around 107 tons of waste per day

Coachella requires a massive infrastructure that powers its soundboards, lighting rigs, dressing rooms, bathrooms, restaurants, and more, creating a significant carbon footprint.

A short-lived dance festival gave a promoter the idea for Coachella

In 1996, Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett helped organize the Organic festival, an all-night electronic music festival held at a ski resort east of Los Angeles. Tollett said he was inspired by the way Organic's lineup brought the United Kingdom's burgeoning rave culture to a distinctly picturesque and American venue and environment.

Take a visual tour of past Coachellas

This collection of photographs features shots from every year of the festival's history, with portraits of acts like Rage Against the Machine, Oasis, and Lady Gaga gracing its legendary stages.

In 2008, Prince covered Radiohead

Prince's 2008 headlining set at Coachella is one of the most legendary in the history of the festival—in no small part because of this eight-minute cover of Radiohead's "Creep." His version turns the grunge-era classic into a tortured R&B ballad.

Streaming helped propel Bad Bunny to the top of the charts

For decades, labels believed Spanish-language artists had to sing in English to break into the mainstream. Metrics on YouTube and Spotify, though, have shown that listeners are interested in artists like Bad Bunny, who have intentionally made music in Spanish and have become immensely popular.

Several major artists have embraced manipulating the Billboard charts

Billboard is supposed to be an accurate, objective representation of the country’s listening habits, but artists and their fans have discovered ways to manipulate the magazine’s methodology in order to push tracks to the top of the charts. In 2018, Taylor Swift rewarded fans for purchasing her album multiple times; in 2020, Justin Bieber reposted suggestions that fans repeatedly stream one of his songs while they sleep.

Coachella fashion repurposes looks from Woodstock

Coachella attendees' flower-forward fashion sense has been widely replicated (and lampooned) since the festival became a mainstay of the cultural calendar. This podcast, featuring a panel of style writers and music reporters, traces the aesthetic back to the 1969 Woodstock festival. In the process, they also look to untangle why festivalgoers fall into certain styles—and what that means for Coachella and its attendees.

Daft Punk's 2006 set helped mainstream electronic dance music

Daft Punk's 2006 Coachella set wasn't just a performance—it was a turning point for electronic music. Their futuristic pyramid, dazzling visuals, and seamless live mixing captivated a packed crowd and pushed EDM into the mainstream.

YouTube no longer provides data to Billboard

Billboard began using data from YouTube in 2013, tracking the platform’s most popular songs as it became a hub for listeners. That relationship ended in January 2026, when YouTube announced it was ending the partnership, citing a disagreement over how Billboard weighted premium users more heavily than free users.

YouTube's 10 most viewed music videos of all time

YouTube arrived in 2005 with a short, innocuous video about the San Diego Zoo. Just 20 years later, it's one of the most popular websites and a go-to for countless music fans. This list of the site's most popular music videos analyzes how the videos hold up after reaching billions of views. The biggest takeaway? "Gangnam Style" is still a thrilling watch.

YouTube brought endless content—and endless culture wars

How did YouTube grow from a startup in 2005, to a media powerhouse with more than 2.5 billion monthly logged-in users who watch more than 1 billion hours of video every day? That’s what this podcast interview with Bloomberg tech reporter Mark Bergen on NPR’s Fresh Air explores.

How YouTube's biggest creator changed the platform forever

Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast, has accrued 241 million subscribers on YouTube by obsessing over content and spending sometimes millions to produce a single video. He is known for recording himself doing extreme stunts, like staying underwater for 24 hours, and gifting people with large amounts of money. Creators have imitated his style ever since. Dive into how MrBeast transformed YouTube here.

Long before Coachella, Steve Wozniak attempted a similarly-minded festival

In 1982, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak was on a hiatus from Apple after a near-fatal plane crash. In his spare time, he decided to throw a festival that would bring together cutting-edge music and technology—a Woodstock for the 1980s. The result was the US Festival, an early ancestor of Coachella that brought world-class acts like Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, the Grateful Dead, and the Ramones to a rustic venue outside Los Angeles.

Billboard began incorporating streaming in 2007

For nearly 50 years, the Billboard charts primarily relied on radio airplay and retail sales. But in 2007, the magazine began incorporating early streaming services AOL Music and Yahoo! Music into its methodology, and later worked with Spotify, YouTube, and other platforms. A single stream was not weighed as heavily as a purchase of a physical CD or vinyl record. Still, streaming’s impact became evident when songs with minimal radio airplay began climbing the charts, as seen with Baauer’s “Harlem Shake,” which did exceptionally well on YouTube.

'Lazy Sunday' was YouTube's first viral hit

Initially aired on television, the 2005 "Saturday Night Live" digital short featuring Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell took off on YouTube, becoming one of the platform's first viral videos. The song may be a joke, but its success underscored how online video could extend the lifespan of regularly televised content.

Understanding 'YouTube Face,' the platform's pervasive thumbnail style

It's an image that's rampant across the web's premier video platform: open mouths, astonished eyes. It looks cheesy and cheap, yet its practitioners are some of YouTube's most popular personalities. The Ringer's Nate Rogers digs into the history of the phenomenon to learn why it's had such staying power.

YouTube's first-ever video was nothing special

YouTube has grown into a cultural force in its two-plus decades of existence. Its beginnings, though, were modest, especially its first video: a 19-second clip about a visit to the San Diego Zoo. This brief resource explains the origins and longtail impact of "Me at the zoo," a simple video uploaded by Jawed Karim on April 23, 2005.

Super Bowl halftime shows reliably drive massive music sales spikes

Since Michael Jackson’s 1993 performance, halftime headliners have seen major increases in sales and streams—from Prince to Lady Gaga. Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 show was no exception, as it was the most-watched halftime performance on record.

See a ranking of every Super Bowl halftime show since 1993

This resource includes photos and videos from each performance and has a top five, including Prince (2007), Madonna (2012), Beyoncé (2013), Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg (2022), and the 2001 ensemble led by Aerosmith with NSYNC, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

MrBeast is one of YouTube's biggest creators

Jimmy Donaldson always wanted to be an entrepreneur. His drive to succeed helped create the world's most successful YouTube channel through his media personality MrBeast. This in-depth interview with Steven Bartlett reveals the intimate details of Donaldson's experience as a big-time creator and more.

Mark Zuckerberg, Katy Perry, and other celebrities have attended Burning Man

Burning Man is an expensive endeavor, most attractive and accessible to those with deep pockets and an interest in artistic endeavors. Therefore it’s no surprise the event attracts various famous innovators and entertainers, including the world's richest people.

A chat with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan

In a conversation with Bloomberg, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan maps out how the company is taking what it’s learned thus far and embedding itself into the “lean-back” TV viewing experience.

Youtube, explained

YouTube began as a quirky site where users uploaded funny, random videos—a do-it-yourself television service. Today, it’s a global media powerhouse and home to everything from movie trailers to video podcasts, livestreams, and much more. Want to learn more about the streaming giant? Check out our 5-minute explainer here.

Why is Bob Dylan on Patreon?

The singer's notorious for his inscrutability, but his venture into the content subscription website might be one of his stranger choices, especially given the posted content that resembles AI-generated material. Pitchfork's Nina Corcoran surveys the site and tries to make sense.

YouTube was acquired by Google for $1.65B in stock during its second year

In 2006, Google acquired YouTube for $1.65B, only two years after its launch. Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley's best-known venture firms, was an early investor in the streaming video platform, seeing it as the next step in the evolution of user-generated content that flourished online during the mid-2000s.

YouTube occupies more US screen time than Netflix

As consumers continue to shift their viewing activity away from traditional cable and broadcast TV, they’re spending an increasing amount of time streaming content, much of it on YouTube. In fact, Nielsen data from August 2025, shows that YouTube accounted for 13.1% of US screen time, compared to Netflix’s 8.7%.

Reimagining YouTube as cable TV, complete with channel-surfing

The site streams YouTube content as if it were broadcast television, providing the ability to flip through channels and enter videos mid-stream, and you also can't easily skip ahead. The product is designed in part to bring back serendipity to video discovery.

Watch a 1965 press conference with Bob Dylan where he mocks the media's focus on celebrity.

How the YouTube algorithm works, according to MrBeast

In this brief interview clip, the YouTube savant "MrBeast" summarizes how the YouTube algorithm—which he relies on to make his content go viral—actually works.

MrBeast became one of YouTube's biggest creators

Jimmy Donaldson, aka "MrBeast," has racked up more than 312 million subscribers on the platform thanks to high-energy videos that mostly feature challenges, stunts, and philanthropy. He joined YouTube in February 2012, and his 800-plus videos have racked up more than 57 billion views.

Coachella got its name from a typo

The Coachella Valley, the region of California where the annual Coachella music festival takes place, got its name from an unlikely place: a typographical error. The intended name was "Conchilla," which means "little shell" in Spanish, a reference to fossils found in the area. Paperwork at the printer was misspelled, however, and "Coachella" ended up sticking, all the way until it was officially designated a city in 1946.

YouTube evolved into a film distributor

YouTube has evolved from a random clearinghouse of user-uploaded video content to a global media powerhouse. One example is the use of YouTube to distribute "Milk & Serial," a slasher film made for $800 that eventually racked up hundreds of thousands of views.

Joaquin Phoenix's bizarre 2009 interview on Letterman was part of an elaborate performance

The actor appeared humorless and pouty in the late-night appearance. Host Dave Letterman seemed put off by his guest's behavior, but poked fun at him throughout the interview. Phoenix later returned and revealed he was playing a part in a mockumentary called "I’m Still Here," which satirized celebrity culture.

TikTok can turn everyday users into stars

TikTok is such a cultural force, it’s now a platform for turning ordinary users into stars. This "Planet Money" podcast episode performs a deep dive into how Tai Verdes went from working a day job and dreaming of becoming a successful musician to using TikTok to gain a following.

Music today is often intended to circulate on social media

Artists are increasingly using TikTok and other short form video platforms as a space to promote their music. One scholar notes this emphasis, and connect it to Taylor Swift's early use of social media to promote her own work and brand.