The Coachella payment plan is financially smart, actually
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As Coachella fans wash off the dust from three days of operatic derangement from Lady Gaga, Post Malone, two Blackpink solo spins and the rest of the bill, one backlash is emerging: People seem really upset that many young Coachella fans used its installment plan to pay for tickets.
Pop superstar Lady Gaga headlined the desert festival Friday night eight years after filling in last-minute for Beyoncé in 2017.
There are plenty of screaming recession indicators and signs that America is in decline. This is not one of them. The Coachella payment plan is a financially sound, risk-averse option for those already planning to attend.
Many people seem to be mistaking this option for some high-interest, Afterpay-style loan, where fans are YOLO-ing themselves into terminal debt to wring the last drops out of Brat Summer before tariffs obliterate the stock market.
From Lady Gaga’s rock opera to surprise appearances by Queen’s Brian May and politician Bernie Sanders, these are the most memorable things our staff saw at Coachella’s first weekend.
They’re wrong. Coachella’s payment plan, which has been a popular option for fans for many years, is just this: For a $599 GA ticket (including fees), fans had the option to put $49.99 down when tickets went on sale in November 2024, then pay off the remainder of the balance in monthly installments through March of this year. The fee for this option was a flat $41. If you default on payments, the funds are available for future use at Coachella.
There is no added interest charged at any point.
As someone who entered a career in music journalism in the 2000s, I might not be the wisest voice to turn to for financial advice. But given the choice of putting your whole Coachella ticket on a high-interest credit card, or using the installment plan and saving that money in a high-yield savings account or low-fee market index fund instead, I think even John Bogle would agree that the installment plan is the sound option.
What to know about Coachella 2025, including how to get tickets, who’s performing, what to eat, the festival party scene and how to watch the livestream.
Plenty of people are suffering financially right now, and many are likely to join them in the months and years to come if a recession takes hold. Coachella isn’t cheap, but it’s arguably the preeminent live music experience in America, and absolutely can be done for less than a grand if you camp on-site.
For dedicated music fans — the very ones who sustain the Los Angeles entertainment economy that seems to be teetering right now — it’s an easy way to reserve and pay for a ticket without immediate sticker shock. If Coachella is in your budget, that’s a smart way to pay for it that will not, ahem, “FXCK up the World” of your finances more than any other option.
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