I stared at my computer and continuously refreshed the page for the 10 am release of Lollapalooza tickets online. At 10:00:01, I was already waitlisted for the three-day passes. I worried I wouldn’t be able to buy a ticket at all. A notification popped up and confirmed that the early bird passes had sold out, but to my relief, the regular full-price tickets were now available. Although it cost more, I purchased my three-day pass.
After the rush of buying tickets was over, I found myself thinking about the ticket sales process. How was it possible that the first round of tickets sold out in minutes? According to the executives behind Lollapalooza, popularity of music festivals has skyrocketed.
Charlie Jones, co-owner of Lollapalooza promoters C3 Presents, said that the website had twice as many visitors this year as opposed to last year.
A survey of fifty Central students showed that 46 percent tried to buy Lollapalooza tickets. Only half of them ended up actually buying the tickets they originally wanted. Many ended up buying tickets for a different date or price than planned.
This popularity may have resulted from an early line-up leak (see below for the line-up). Another factor is the increasing popularity of music festivals. Lollapalooza tickets completely sold out for the first time in 2011.
The declined economy may have prompted this rise, according to Rolling Stone magazine writer Steve Baltin. Rather than paying one price to see one band at a concert, people can pay a proportionally lower price to see hundreds of bands. Music festivals give attendees more music for their money; it is more cost effective than a single headline concert.
To buy your Lollapalooza tickets, go to third-party vendors like StubHub and TicketMaster. Lollapalooza Line-Up:
Aug. 2: The Killers, Nine Inch Nails, New Order, Queens of the Stone Age, Steve Aoki, Thievery Corporation, Lana Del Rey, Flux Pavilion, Band of Horses, Hot Chip, Crystal Castles, Imagine Dragons, Frightened Rabbit, Dillon Francis, Smith Westerns, Disclosure, Father John Misty, Ghost B.C., Modestep, Emeli Sande, Jessie Ware, Atlas Genius, Timeflies, Theophilus London, Monsta, IO Echo, Icona Pop, Chance the Rapper, Lance Herbstrong, Robert DeLong, Deep Vally, Twenty One Pilots, San Cisco, Hey Marseilles, Keys N Krates, the Neighbourhood, Pacific Air, American Authors, Houndmouth, Brick + Mortar, D-Pryde, Brite Lite Brite.
Aug. 3: Mumford & Sons, the Postal Service, the National, the Lumineers, Kendrick Lamar, Eric Church, Steve Angello, Ellie Goulding, Azealia Banks, Local Natives, Dada Life, Matt & Kim, Foals, Death Grips, Court Yard Hounds, Adventure Club, Ben Howard, GriZ, Charles Bradley, Heartless Bastards, Baauer, Haim, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, St. Lucia, Shovels & Rope, Little Green Cars, Family of the Year, 360, the Bright Light Social Hot, Reignwolf, Pujol, Planet Hemp, Cole Plante, Lukas Nelson & P.O.T.R., Blondfire, Frontier Ruckus, Wheeler Brothers, the Dunwells, Supreme Cuts, Cherub, Wild Cub, Brooke Waggoner, Beast Patrol.
Aug. 4: The Cure, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend, Knife Party, Grizzly Bear, Major Lazer, Dog Blood, Two Door Cinema Club, Tegan and Sara, Beach House, Cat Power, 2 Chainz, Alt-J, the Vaccines, DIIV, Alex Clare, Baroness, Lianne La Havas, Wild Nothing, Angel Haze, Wavves, Alvin Risk, Jake Bugg, Wild Belle, Art Department, MS MR, Guards, Kill the Noise, Skaters, the Orwells, Palma Violets, Astro, Machines are People Too, Yawn, Half Moon Run, the Mowgli’s, Wake Owl, Bear Mountain, O’Brother, Makeshift Prodigy.
