Woodstock paid their lineup artists pretty well for their three days of peace and music festival in 1969.
Taken from archived documents that can be found in Woodstock - Back to The Garden, the highest-paid act was guitar legend, Jimi Hendrix, who earned $18,000 to headline the weekend, which is equivalent to about $$125,628 in 2019.
Blood, Sweat and Tears were paid $15,000 for their gig while Joan Baez and Creedence Clearwater Revival received $10,000 each.
For reference, booking an artist these days would cost you at least $500,000. Of course, all of that money won't go straight to the artist but to the record label or manager(s). Bob Dylan's price tag ranges from $150k to $200k easily while some of the young and current popstars can easily ask for over $1m for booking fees.
See the full list below.
- Jimi Hendrix – $18,000
- Blood, Sweat and Tears – $15,000
- Joan Baez – $10,000
- Creedence Clearwater Revival – $10,000
- The Band – $7,500
- Janis Joplin – $7,500
- Jefferson Airplane – $7,500
- Sly and the Family Stone – $7,000
- Canned Heat – $6,500
- The Who – $6,250
- Richie Havens – $6,000
- Arlo Guthrie – $5,000
- Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – $5,000
- Ravi Shankar – $4,500
- Johnny Winter – $3,750
- Ten Years After – $3,250
- Country Joe and the Fish – $2,500
- Grateful Dead – $2,500
- The Incredible String Band – $2,250
- Mountain – $2,000
- Tim Hardin – $2,000
- Joe Cocker – $1,375
- Sweetwater – $1,250
- John B. Sebastian – $1,000
- Melanie – $750
- Santana – $750
- Sha Na Na – $700
- Keef Hartley – $500
- Quill – $375