by By Paige DeMarco
Today, Friday, April 14th, marks the first day of Coachella 2023. This year’s lineup will feature top artists such as Bad Bunny, Blackpink, Calvin Harris, and Frank Ocean. As musicians prepare to take the stage, influencers are getting ready for their biggest event of the year: the “Influencer Olympics.”
Since 1999, the Coachella Valley Music Festival has been a place for music lovers to see some of the world’s most popular and emerging artists. Although the focus is on the music, art installations, eclectic cuisine, and outrageous fashion, all play a significant role in the Coachella experience.
With the rise of social media, Coachella has also become a marketer’s dream. Coachella partners with various organizations every year to help sponsor and provide for their events. Brands will host parties, give out merchandise, and offer booths to festival-goers to relax and cool down from the California heat. This year’s top partners include Postmates, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Neutrogena, Youtube, and Casetify.
If you aren’t lucky enough to have a partnership, many brands/organizations will send influencers to promote their products instead. Often, they will pay for an influencer’s festival ticket, hotel accommodations, outfits, etc., in return for promoting their company. For example, this year, rising TiK Tok star Alix Earle is being sent (on a private jet) by the clothing company GUESS. GUESS has rented out an extravagant compound for the weekend, which will soon be filled with influencers such as youtube creator David Dobrik, Tik Toker Noah Beck, and the popular photographer Bryant.
On apps such as Tik Tok and Instagram, many users have expressed how Coachella has turned from a music festival into a competition between creators, coining the name “Influencer Olympics.” Influencers want to be sponsored by the best brand, get into all the VIP parties, and post the best content. Surprisingly, some influencers have admitted they had traveled to Indio, CA, just to come for the events and skipped the festival all together.
One company that knows Coachella’s influencers all too well is Revolve. Revolve has created its very own version of Coachella, Revolve Festival. Revolve Fest. is located in the same area and on the exact dates as Coachella but has no direct affliction with the festival. Revolve Fest. is an invite-only party/concert with celebrities as big as the Kardashians. Last year, the event resulted in chaos as many influencers struggled to get into the event due to transportation issues, poor conditions, and needing invitations. The news went viral over social media, as many influencers gave insight into what the influencer Olympics are truly like.
This year, Revolve will host their 10th annual Revolve Fest. In light of last year’s events, information on attendees and performers has remained limited to the general public. Some of the only information posted is a Tik Tok of the dates, which also showcases artificially advanced videos of colorful mushrooms, predicted to this year’s theme. In addition, the videos also seem to be in alignment with their new campaign ‘Best Trip’, where Revolve used artificial intelligence to create the first-ever AI-generated billboard.
So what will this year’s Coachella bring? Good Music? Always. Overpriced food? Of course. A sea of influencers all competing against one another? Expect nothing less.
Coachella has evolved so much over the years. It is interesting to see how influencer relationships with brands have changed, with many influencers prioritizing influencer events over the festival itself. Last year Revolve had a lot of backlash from angry influencers about poor conditions during a Coachella-related event. It seems as though the narrative around them this year has changed. Thank you for your insight; this was an interesting post.