The Coachella Effect: A Platform for Emerging Artists
This is the first in a four-part series that explores how Coachella serves as a platform for emerging artists, driving global exposure and long-term success.
At a Glance
- Understand "The Coachella Effect" and how it transforms the career of emerging artists.
- Learn key Spotify metrics—daily streams, monthly listeners, followers, and popularity ratings—and how they measure an artist’s growth.
- Explore how artists like Anitta, Dominic Fike, and Chappell Roan have leveraged Coachella to drive long-term success and career growth.
Introducing the Data Story
Every year, Coachella attracts artists from around the globe, offering them an unparalleled opportunity to perform on one of the largest stages in the music world. This festival, which takes place annually in Indio, California, has become a cultural phenomenon, drawing hundreds of thousands of fans and serving as a significant platform for emerging talent. For artists who are not yet household names, Coachella is often seen as the ultimate springboard to mainstream recognition.
Chartmetric characterizes the "Coachella Effect" as the impact the festival has on artist's careers – setting the foundation for their long-term success. Below is an example (from 2024) of artists who have experienced significant gains from performing at Coachella.
In this series, we'll explore and measure the Coachella Effect through four Spotify metrics: daily streams, monthly listeners, followers, and popularity ratings. Spotify is one of the most popular audio streaming services, with over 678 million users globally. This makes it an ideal platform for measuring the Coachella Effect, providing valuable insights into how Coachella exposure translates into increased engagement and global recognition for artists.
The data we’re using will show how Coachella exposure can be a catalyst for an artist's career—especially for those who are on the edge of breaking through.
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Breaking Down the Metrics
The Spotify metrics not only demonstrate a growing audience but also lead to increased revenue. For example, according to Ditto Music, "Spotify pays artists between $0.003 - $0.005 per stream on average." Thus, an artist receiving 1 million streams per day could earn approximately $3,000 to $5,000 daily, equating to $90,000 to $150,000 monthly. This growth also translates into higher streaming royalties, boosted concert ticket sales, greater merchandise sales, and additional sponsorships—all key financial benefits.
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Over time, sustained increases in these metrics can build the longevity of an artist's career, securing their place in the industry and enabling continued success far beyond their initial breakthrough.
Let's explore each of the metrics (i.e., daily streams, monthly listeners, followers, and popularity ratings).
Daily Streams
Represents the number of times an artist's music is played on streaming platforms on a given day.
This metric is important because it measures the immediate engagement an artist receives after their Coachella performance. A significant increase in daily streams indicates that Coachella’s massive audience has been drawn in by the artist's performance, which immediately boosts visibility and attention.
Monthly Listeners
Tracks the total number of unique individuals who listen to an artist’s music over a one-month period.
Unlike daily streams, which measure short-term engagement, monthly listeners provide insight into whether the artist can maintain that engagement over time. This metric is essential for understanding sustained growth, demonstrating how Coachella can help artists retain new fans and keep them engaged after the event.
Followers
Users who subscribe to receive updates on an artist’s latest releases and events.
This metric is important because it reflects long-term interest—those who follow an artist are more likely to continue engaging with their music. A rise in followers means the artist has gained dedicated fans who are committed to supporting their future work.
Popularity Rating
A numerical value that reflects an artist’s overall visibility and prominence on streaming platforms.
It is created by Spotify’s algorithm, which considers factors such as streams, followers, and playlist placements. This rating is a useful measure of global appeal and mainstream recognition. A significant increase in an artist’s popularity rating after performing at Coachella suggests that the festival has helped boost their mainstream visibility, making them more likely to attract further opportunities.
Coachella's Impact in Action
At the heart of the Coachella Effect lies the boost in visibility and engagement that artists experience following their performances. Anitta, Dominic Fike, and Chappell Roan are examples of how Coachella helps emerging artists take the leap from niche popularity to mainstream recognition.
Each of these artists has demonstrated how Coachella exposure can amplify their careers in unique ways.
Anitta, for instance, leveraged her Coachella performance in 2022 to expand her international audience, achieving massive spikes in streams and followers.
Dominic Fike used his Coachella 2023 performance to gain mainstream recognition, increasing his monthly listeners and expanding his presence in the pop music scene.
Chappell Roan, after her 2024 performance, experienced a dramatic rise in daily streams and followers, signaling her potential for future stardom and growth.
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These examples illustrate how Coachella acts as a springboard for artists to build momentum and achieve long-term success. In the next newsletter, we’ll dive into the specific metrics for Anitta, Dominic Fike, and Chappell Roan, exploring how their Coachella performances led to their breakout success.
Summary
In this first part of our series, we introduced the concept of The Coachella Effect—how performing at Coachella can significantly boost an artist's exposure and drive long-term growth.
We discussed how key Spotify metrics, such as daily streams, monthly listeners, followers, and popularity ratings, help track this growth and measure the festival's impact on an artist’s career.
We also briefly mentioned Anitta, Dominic Fike, and Chappell Roan as examples of the Coachella Effect in action, showcasing how their performances at the festival led to significant growth and increased visibility.
In the remaining newsletters, we will:
- Explore Coachella’s immediate impact, by analyzing how streaming metrics (daily streams, monthly listeners, followers, and popularity ratings) reflect the growth of artists leading up to, during, and post-Coachella, with a focus on Anitta, Dominic Fike, and Chappell Roan.
- Dive deep into long-term success, focusing specifically on Chappell Roan as a Coachella outlier and analyzing how her performance at the festival helped her build sustained growth and long-term success in the industry.
- Predict the potential breakout stars of Coachella 2025, using early engagement and streaming data to identify which artists are most likely to follow in the footsteps of those who have experienced global success.
Stay tuned as we continue to unpack the Coachella Effect and how it shapes the future of emerging artists in the music industry!
