As Coachella quickly approaches, news about the behind the scenes logistics is beginning to come to light. In an interview with the New Yorker, the Coachella founder Paul Tollett recently claimed the headliners for the 2017 festival, who in this case are: Radio Head, Lady Gaga, and Kendrick Lamar, were each paid a whopping $3-$4 million for their sets. In a huge contrast, the artists who are listed in the lower lines of the lineup are paid a little less than $10,000.
The Paul Tollett profile also revealed that he found out about the Beyonce cancellation at the same time as everyone else. While he hoped that she would stay a headliner for the festival, after her performance at the Grammy’s in February where she was already a decent ways along in her pregnancy, it became clear a huge performance in April would be unrealistic.
He also shed some light on the booking process, saying the whole thing took him six months after putting together 150 perfect artists and negotiating with agents. Marc Geiger from W.M.E., described a moment where they were figuring out who to add to the lineup. He said, “I’ll say, ‘Kate Bush!’ And he’ll go, ‘No!,’ and we’ll talk through it. I’ll say, ‘She’s never played here, and she just did thirty shows in the U.K. for the first time since the late seventies. You gotta do it! Have to!’ ‘No! No one is going to understand it.’ ”
The festival takes place in Indio, CA for the span of two weekends, starting on April 14-16 and continuing through the 21-23.
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