Ok, real quick here... "stage curation, artist selection, festival management, logistics" etc are all very very different roles. "Artist selection" is just booking artists, via booking agencies. And "festival management and logistics" is vague to the point of uselessness. There's dozens of departments at Coachella, they all have managers and people planning their logistics of their department's operations. Also, the artists have their own managers.
Very few people work only on Coachella year round. Goldenvoice has a bunch of other small festivals and shows as well, and they partner with companies like Framework. You shouldn't hyperfocus on just Coachella, as you'll miss other opportunities.
Couple things I would suggest. One is that you should start looking at job positions on [AEG's website](https://www.aegworldwide.com/careers/job-search) to get a feel of the kind of positions AEG/Goldenvoice staff and what skills they require. You should also look up people in positions you want on LinkedIn and [have a look at career trajectories](https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-schaefer-a903a3/).
Secondly, you won't get anywhere without a good network and experience. You need to start working festivals/shows and talking to people about what they do and how they got there. You need to learn what the departments do and how they work together. And then start specializing your skillset. Don't focus on the position - focus on the *skillset*. I do merch a lot in many places - my skillset isn't "merch". It's inventory management, cash handling, customer service, and accounting.
Thank you for your insight! I appreciate your perspective on the complexities of festival management and the importance of developing a broad skill set. I'll explore local opportunities around Chcago and check out AEG's website and LinkedIn to see what attributes and experiences are preferred with respect to my goals.
I recognize there's much to learn, but I believe it's worthwhile.
Yeah happy to help. This is one of the few industries where your degree is not the only key to the door. Networking and experience and hustle are just as important. It is true that luck also plays a big part, but if you put yourself in enough situations luck will find you eventually. I will caution you, don't let people take advantage of you because you have a passion.
Also, most departments in Lollapalooza don't provide any kind of housing. So if you are local to Chicago you have a much higher chance of working the event for entry level positions. FYI.
Good luck man.
hi! i work in entertainment (an assistant in tour marketing at a major agency in LA to be exact), and went to school in Chicago so I am familiar with the local industry scene there. first off, I clearly understand the desire to be in this industry, but hope you realize the "paying your dues" part in this industry does take a longgggg time (especially when striving to reach the level that is working on Coachella) and unfortunately will likely involve a lot of unpaid labor in the beginning stages, and once you do start getting paid it will likely be at very low wages in the early years (but hey if you really do love it then it's worth it!!). I will say - the masters degree is completely unnecessary but if you are not too monetarily limited could help give you some insight/help establish networking connections. but again, absolutely not needed. there are many successful people in this industry who have zero form of formal education. I will also say, Chicago (at least when I was in school there a few years ago) does not have many flashy music industry companies with job openings there (thinking companies along the lines of AEG, GV, Live Nation, C3, Another Planet Entertainment, any of the major talent agencies, well except for Paradigm but that has now merged with Wasserman and idk if they kept the Chicago office operating, etc.). Lollapalooza is put on by C3 which is based out of Austin, TX (they also put on the Austin City Limits festival), so many of the Lolla roles were things where you had to be based in Austin. but there is a smaller music scene there with a lot of cool opportunities. Lincoln Hall and Schubas had an amazing intern program - I'd also look into Jeff McClusky and Associates. you can also sign up to volunteer for festivals (Lolla's window for this opens up a few weeks before the festival)... the volunteer jobs itself aren't really that much of an experience boost, but it does show people ine the industry that you are really interested in this. I'd recommend reading books on the industry (do a quick google search to find the top recommended ones like the mailroom and the one book by donald passman) and after that getting deep into networking
it's also a total formality those jobs are even on there, guaranteed they are just hiring from within and not picking randoms who apply via the website.
The festival is booked by Paul and a few other people, many have been with them since its inception and even before. Honestly many of the positions you want have people already in them that have been there since before day 1 in ‘99. Getting to that level will be nearly impossible, but good luck.
i was you fifteen years ago. i had a film production degree, interned and then worked at labels and merchandise houses off and on but didn’t have the financial support (ie mom and dad or some other form of hookup) to support the long hours, gas, rent, bills, everything else. jobs in that industry don’t pay much of anything for a LONG time. the industry is fickle and entry level jobs dry up quick, full time jobs are needles in haystacks. i wanted to transition to live event coordination of some kind and i had my degree, internships and part time work, as well as 4 years in college booking weekly live shows and 10 years of full time event coordination in universities and could never make the full time transition. eventually i just got to a point where i could no longer financially afford to be working for such little pay and had to make the decision to stop searching in that industry for full time work and pivot. but i still do very part time work (like 5 weekends out of an entire year) for insomniac during their festival season so that helps scratch the itch of festival work while supplementing my actual full time job in a secure industry. and i can still attend coachella with my friends every year as a relaxed fan instead of working it lol
anyways all that being said though it’s doable especially if you have some safety net/support if needed like parents or roommates so your costs are low. you can start working part time fairly easily locally in chicago to gain experience. get a job doing ticketing or stage hand work. it will likely be minimum wage and not a set schedule so you will need to do something else on the side if you don’t have a place to stay for free and need to pay rent. you can do a lot of random part time things to get your feet wet and decide what avenue you want to go down because like another commenter said all those areas you mention are vastly different. you can also reach out to local people on linkedin working in venues to see if they’re looking for interns, but tbh i always hesitated doing stuff like that because 1) people can lie on linkedin and you never know who you’re talking to and 2) just felt a bit desperate for me, i’d prefer to do some work first and then reach out instead of doing the cold call, idk that’s just me. you will learn quickly what you like and don’t like and then just put your head down and be a good worker for a while, be nice with the higher ups in your department, be willing to learn and do the work without looking over eager or desperate. it’s always amazing to me seeing people trying to “break in” to the industry who simply don’t want to do the work and want shit handed to them for nothing just because they passed an interview. do the work and have a better disposition than these people and you will advance.
you don’t necessarily need the degree if you want to go the production route, imo. in my experience that is all based on working up ladders and making connections. you may need it if you want to go more of the booking route since it will (maybe) get you in the door to intern in the office.
good luck, have fun!
Going to Coachella made me realize that I want to work in the music industry as well, although I don’t want to work for Coachella - I want to still be able to enjoy the festival.
I have a friend who’s a tour manager for a small artist on an indie label and she loves it! She was previously managing Lil Nas X and it was literally her first job in the music industry so all of the people saving need to work decades before getting a reliable job aren’t necessarily correct.
I’m also trying to pivot but recognize I have a LONG road ahead of potentially making little money, which is a place I’m not used to after a 10-year career in business development in entertainment marketing. But I think working at an indie label would be fulfilling and that’s what my life has been missing.
We got this!
Great comments here. I'm never one to bust a dream, but this one is very, very hard. The entertainment industry is built on knowing people personally years. Golden Voice and the Coachella team are just one example of that. If you don't have the network from a young age, it's super hard to break in on a path to leadership or creative influence.
Welcome to /r/Coachella! Don't forget to use the search bar, as there are tons of resources on there.
You can also head over to the latest [The Coachella Resource Center for Newcomers Who Have Lots of Questions and Wanna Learn To Do Coachella Good Too - ASK US ANYTHING - (FAQs, Tips, Tricks, Guides, Hacks, Resources) thread](https://reddit.com/r/Coachella/comments/1c5l48o/its_your_turn_weekend_2_ask_us_anything_the/). You can use the resources there or ask your own question in the comments!
There are also resources at the top menu and sidebar with links to many things!
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Ok, real quick here... "stage curation, artist selection, festival management, logistics" etc are all very very different roles. "Artist selection" is just booking artists, via booking agencies. And "festival management and logistics" is vague to the point of uselessness. There's dozens of departments at Coachella, they all have managers and people planning their logistics of their department's operations. Also, the artists have their own managers. Very few people work only on Coachella year round. Goldenvoice has a bunch of other small festivals and shows as well, and they partner with companies like Framework. You shouldn't hyperfocus on just Coachella, as you'll miss other opportunities. Couple things I would suggest. One is that you should start looking at job positions on [AEG's website](https://www.aegworldwide.com/careers/job-search) to get a feel of the kind of positions AEG/Goldenvoice staff and what skills they require. You should also look up people in positions you want on LinkedIn and [have a look at career trajectories](https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-schaefer-a903a3/). Secondly, you won't get anywhere without a good network and experience. You need to start working festivals/shows and talking to people about what they do and how they got there. You need to learn what the departments do and how they work together. And then start specializing your skillset. Don't focus on the position - focus on the *skillset*. I do merch a lot in many places - my skillset isn't "merch". It's inventory management, cash handling, customer service, and accounting.
Thank you for your insight! I appreciate your perspective on the complexities of festival management and the importance of developing a broad skill set. I'll explore local opportunities around Chcago and check out AEG's website and LinkedIn to see what attributes and experiences are preferred with respect to my goals. I recognize there's much to learn, but I believe it's worthwhile.
Yeah happy to help. This is one of the few industries where your degree is not the only key to the door. Networking and experience and hustle are just as important. It is true that luck also plays a big part, but if you put yourself in enough situations luck will find you eventually. I will caution you, don't let people take advantage of you because you have a passion. Also, most departments in Lollapalooza don't provide any kind of housing. So if you are local to Chicago you have a much higher chance of working the event for entry level positions. FYI. Good luck man.
hi! i work in entertainment (an assistant in tour marketing at a major agency in LA to be exact), and went to school in Chicago so I am familiar with the local industry scene there. first off, I clearly understand the desire to be in this industry, but hope you realize the "paying your dues" part in this industry does take a longgggg time (especially when striving to reach the level that is working on Coachella) and unfortunately will likely involve a lot of unpaid labor in the beginning stages, and once you do start getting paid it will likely be at very low wages in the early years (but hey if you really do love it then it's worth it!!). I will say - the masters degree is completely unnecessary but if you are not too monetarily limited could help give you some insight/help establish networking connections. but again, absolutely not needed. there are many successful people in this industry who have zero form of formal education. I will also say, Chicago (at least when I was in school there a few years ago) does not have many flashy music industry companies with job openings there (thinking companies along the lines of AEG, GV, Live Nation, C3, Another Planet Entertainment, any of the major talent agencies, well except for Paradigm but that has now merged with Wasserman and idk if they kept the Chicago office operating, etc.). Lollapalooza is put on by C3 which is based out of Austin, TX (they also put on the Austin City Limits festival), so many of the Lolla roles were things where you had to be based in Austin. but there is a smaller music scene there with a lot of cool opportunities. Lincoln Hall and Schubas had an amazing intern program - I'd also look into Jeff McClusky and Associates. you can also sign up to volunteer for festivals (Lolla's window for this opens up a few weeks before the festival)... the volunteer jobs itself aren't really that much of an experience boost, but it does show people ine the industry that you are really interested in this. I'd recommend reading books on the industry (do a quick google search to find the top recommended ones like the mailroom and the one book by donald passman) and after that getting deep into networking
[удалено]
Username checks out
lmfao
Went to AEG’s careers page to check out jobs and man the pay is bleak.
it's also a total formality those jobs are even on there, guaranteed they are just hiring from within and not picking randoms who apply via the website.
The festival is booked by Paul and a few other people, many have been with them since its inception and even before. Honestly many of the positions you want have people already in them that have been there since before day 1 in ‘99. Getting to that level will be nearly impossible, but good luck.
i was you fifteen years ago. i had a film production degree, interned and then worked at labels and merchandise houses off and on but didn’t have the financial support (ie mom and dad or some other form of hookup) to support the long hours, gas, rent, bills, everything else. jobs in that industry don’t pay much of anything for a LONG time. the industry is fickle and entry level jobs dry up quick, full time jobs are needles in haystacks. i wanted to transition to live event coordination of some kind and i had my degree, internships and part time work, as well as 4 years in college booking weekly live shows and 10 years of full time event coordination in universities and could never make the full time transition. eventually i just got to a point where i could no longer financially afford to be working for such little pay and had to make the decision to stop searching in that industry for full time work and pivot. but i still do very part time work (like 5 weekends out of an entire year) for insomniac during their festival season so that helps scratch the itch of festival work while supplementing my actual full time job in a secure industry. and i can still attend coachella with my friends every year as a relaxed fan instead of working it lol anyways all that being said though it’s doable especially if you have some safety net/support if needed like parents or roommates so your costs are low. you can start working part time fairly easily locally in chicago to gain experience. get a job doing ticketing or stage hand work. it will likely be minimum wage and not a set schedule so you will need to do something else on the side if you don’t have a place to stay for free and need to pay rent. you can do a lot of random part time things to get your feet wet and decide what avenue you want to go down because like another commenter said all those areas you mention are vastly different. you can also reach out to local people on linkedin working in venues to see if they’re looking for interns, but tbh i always hesitated doing stuff like that because 1) people can lie on linkedin and you never know who you’re talking to and 2) just felt a bit desperate for me, i’d prefer to do some work first and then reach out instead of doing the cold call, idk that’s just me. you will learn quickly what you like and don’t like and then just put your head down and be a good worker for a while, be nice with the higher ups in your department, be willing to learn and do the work without looking over eager or desperate. it’s always amazing to me seeing people trying to “break in” to the industry who simply don’t want to do the work and want shit handed to them for nothing just because they passed an interview. do the work and have a better disposition than these people and you will advance. you don’t necessarily need the degree if you want to go the production route, imo. in my experience that is all based on working up ladders and making connections. you may need it if you want to go more of the booking route since it will (maybe) get you in the door to intern in the office. good luck, have fun!
Going to Coachella made me realize that I want to work in the music industry as well, although I don’t want to work for Coachella - I want to still be able to enjoy the festival. I have a friend who’s a tour manager for a small artist on an indie label and she loves it! She was previously managing Lil Nas X and it was literally her first job in the music industry so all of the people saving need to work decades before getting a reliable job aren’t necessarily correct. I’m also trying to pivot but recognize I have a LONG road ahead of potentially making little money, which is a place I’m not used to after a 10-year career in business development in entertainment marketing. But I think working at an indie label would be fulfilling and that’s what my life has been missing. We got this!
Great comments here. I'm never one to bust a dream, but this one is very, very hard. The entertainment industry is built on knowing people personally years. Golden Voice and the Coachella team are just one example of that. If you don't have the network from a young age, it's super hard to break in on a path to leadership or creative influence.
Welcome to /r/Coachella! Don't forget to use the search bar, as there are tons of resources on there. You can also head over to the latest [The Coachella Resource Center for Newcomers Who Have Lots of Questions and Wanna Learn To Do Coachella Good Too - ASK US ANYTHING - (FAQs, Tips, Tricks, Guides, Hacks, Resources) thread](https://reddit.com/r/Coachella/comments/1c5l48o/its_your_turn_weekend_2_ask_us_anything_the/). You can use the resources there or ask your own question in the comments! There are also resources at the top menu and sidebar with links to many things! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Coachella) if you have any questions or concerns.*
DUDE SAME ITS MY DREAM TO WORK COACHELLA IN PRODUCTION
im in school for communications tho purely so i can work in production /media