Music festivals are the hottest ticket in town these days, as their popularity has experienced a meteoric rise over the last several years. According to Forbes, the top ten music festivals garnered an impressive $195 million in just ticket sales. Coachella reigned superior by a landslide, raking in almost $85 million – and that doesn’t even include food/alcohol or on-site merchandise sales. The Indio-based, three day affair seems to be a favorite of most, as festival-goers from all around the world travel to see a euphoric blend of indie-folk, rap, hip-hop, and EDM.
The remaining festivals didn’t even come close to Coachella’s gargantuan revenue, as Outside Lands – the second-highest – collected only a third of its revenue. While six international festivals made it on the list’s top 10, it’s clear that American-based festivals are the king when it comes to attendance and ticket sales. Regardless, 1.1 million people attended these 10 festivals alone, making the future potential for the music industry limitless.
One of the stranger outliers on the list is Electric Daisy Carnival New York at #4, and Las Vegas is curiously absent. We wondered if there was an explanation, so we reached out to the author of the Forbes article to ask about it. According to him, he received the data from Billboard’s End-Of-Year boxscore, and was equally surprised.
@mnmedia13 @Forbes according to Billboard's EOY Boxscore. I was surprised as well!
— Hugh McIntyre (@PopBangHugh) January 15, 2016
Top 10 Highest-Grossing Music Festivals of 2015
(via Forbes)
1. Coachella (Indio, CA – April 10-12, 17-19)
Total Gross: $84.26 million
Total Attendance: 198,000
2. Outside Lands (San Francisco, CA – August 7-9)
Total Gross: $24.3 million
Total Attendance: 212,000
3. Stagecoach (Indio, CA – April 24-26)
Total Gross: $21.88 million
Total Attendance: 70,000
4. Electric Daisy Carnival (East Rutherford, NJ – May 23-24)
Total Gross: $11.18 million
Total Attendance: 91,400
5. Byron Bay Bluesfest (Byron Bay, Australia – April 2-6)
Total Gross: $9.82 million
Total Attendance: 105,500
6. Bravalla Festival (Norrkoping, Sweden – June 25-27)
Total Gross: $9.65 million
Total Attendance: 46,500
7. Osheaga (Montreal, Canada – July 31-August 2)
Total Gross: $9.25 million
Total Attendance: 135,000
8. Southside Festival (Neuhausen, Germany – June 19-21)
Total Gross: $9.2 million
Total Attendance: 60,000
9. Hurricane Festival (Scheessel, Germany – June 19-21)
Total Gross: $8.68 million
Total Attendance: 65,000
10. Lollapalooza Brasil (Sao Paolo, Brazil – March 28-29)
Total Gross: $7.32 million
Total Attendance: 125,000
Source: Forbes
