Festival organizers should just change the name to MoneyWorld and be done with it.

So you've decided to sell plasma to avoid home eviction or secretly pawned off your parents’ antiques to eat — all because every penny earned went towards festival tickets? Sure, that’s ok. At least you’re contributing to a state's economy, right? As it turns out, depending on which festival you’ve been to lately, that economic impact could be huge!

It’s estimated Coachella brings in over $90 million to the city of Indio, CA annually and another independent study claims the Electric Daisy Carnival has brought in close to a billion dollars within a four-year run to the Las Vegas area.

Jee   –   sus …

Recently TomorrowWorld — which takes place this year on Sept 25-27 in Chattahoochee Hills, GA — also released a few financial numbers that may have everyone kicking themselves in the ears.

Why kick oneself in the ears you ask? Well, because it’s likely easier to do that than build a music festival empire worth what these massive events are raking in.

As a simple breakdown:

  • $93.9M worth of economic activity across the state of Georgia, with $71.8M of that in “new economic activity” in the Atlanta region
     
  • This equals a 9% increase in Atlanta economic activity from TomorrowWorld 2014 vs. 2013. This is largely due to the increase in the number of participants, but also because per-participant spending increased 56% from 2013 to 2014.
     
  • $173M in combined economic impact from TomorrowWorld 2013 and 2014
     
  • $30.5M in labor income for workers in the Atlanta region
     
  • $4.7M in state and local taxes in Georgia, including $2.9M in state and local taxes from activity in the Atlanta region

Along with the staggering numbers, the TomorrowWorld festival also announced the first phase of its lineup, which includes headliners David Guetta, Tiesto, Steve Angello, Hardwell, Armin Van Buuren, Martin Garrix with many more to be announced when they feel like it.

“We are passionate about bringing beauty, positivity and unforgettable experiences to TomorrowWorld’s visitors each year,” says Jamie Reilly, project director of TomorrowWorld. “These numbers are a humbling reminder that our work has a significant impact to our local community and home.”

In an article of ours titled “Until The Festie Bubble Breaks” — featured in last month’s issue — we explore the sad reality of the “Festie Bubble” and what complications sprout from such massive productions. Obnoxious ticket prices, discrimination and elitism are just some of the negative impacts we highlight of the large-scale festivals … which are all dumb, of course …

… but you just can’t deny the dough coming to cities because of the destination events.

In related news: Maybe we can put on a festival here at the office? To attend, send all blank money orders to the music editor for your chance to have an elite VIP mega-experience of a lifetime! Or bring us Slurpees — a Slurpee sounds SO good right now …