Why music festivals feel so expensive in 2025
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A view of the Breakaway Festival. Photo: Mike Kirschbaum/KURSZA
The prices of some of America's biggest music festivals are cranking up alongside the thermometer as we move toward summer.
Why it matters: In an environment where food and housing costs remain high, it's harder to justify the luxury of attending events like music festivals — especially as the looming impact of tariffs threatens to further dent Americans' spending power.
Between the lines: At events like Coachella and Bonnaroo, fans also have to consider the cost and hassle of camping at the event in addition to the price of entry.
- Younger fans are increasingly relying on payment plans in order to see their favorite acts at festivals.
Fans bemoaned the prices to attend All Things Go in Maryland, saying prices were lower in previous years.
What they're saying: One festival organizer says higher artist fees have led to more expensive tickets.
- Breakaway Festival co-founder Zach Ruben says they try to stick to a tight talent budget, since talent costs correlate to what they charge for tickets.
- "Artist festival fees have continuously gotten up. For us, artist fees make up about 40%, maybe 45% of our total festival budgets for any given weekend. That's pretty significant."
Zoom in: Prices for Breakaway, a mostly EDM festival that travels the country, start at $69 for a one-day general admission ticket.
- The highest single-day tickets range from $499 to $794, depending on location.
The other side: Playing live shows isn't always financially beneficial for musicians, even as their fees increase.
- After the release of her Grammy-winning album "Invasion of Privacy," rapper Cardi B said she spent almost $300,000 of her own money to perform at Coachella in 2018, but was only paid $70,000 per weekend.
The bottom line: Seeing megastars perform at festivals will cost you, but there are other options.
- Most cities have free music events year-round, but marquee festivals like Stagecoach, Lollapalooza, Tomorrowland and Rolling Loud are available to stream on platforms like Twitch, Prime Video and Hulu.
