It took only six hours for Coachella to sell out completely in January. Or so the world thought: While fans were racing to snatch up tickets, Billie Eilish and her team were hatching a plan with Goldenvoice to surprise-release a stash of weekend passes as part of a merchandise bundle in late February. The new passes, a mix of general admission ($476, up from $429) and VIP options ($1,046, up from $999), came with a fanny pack and a bandana from Eilish’s merch line -- items that the singer’s co-manager, Danny Rukasin, says “fit with the Coachella style.”
It was a mutually beneficial move: Coachella lengthened the duration of the ticket news cycle, and Eilish, who has notched seven hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and billions of streams without having released an album, increased the buzz around her sets. (She’ll play both weekends, on April 13 and 20; her debut LP, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, arrives March 29 on Interscope.) The pact was also a high-profile promotion for the line Eilish launched quietly in March 2018. Unlike other artist merch, the line has its own name, Bl?hsh; website; and Instagram account, with over 355,000 followers.