There’s a significant reason J. Cole made this year’s Dreamville Festival the last one under its current name. The eccentric and elusive North Carolina native has reportedly sold the Dreamville Festival franchise. While the event will be rebranded in the coming years, Cole and his team will continue to assist with its production and execution.
Over the course of five years, Dreamville Festival became a massive success, reportedly bringing in around $10 million per day to Raleigh, North Carolina. That figure might even be conservative. The big buzz on the festival grounds wasn’t just about the performances. People want to know how much J. Cole made from selling the festival to Live Nation. Industry insiders speculated that the deal like this could have landed Cole World anywhere between $100 million and $200 million. Cole and his Dreamville brand will still be “powering” the event in future, so there’s likely some residual income involved as well.
READ ALSO: J. Cole Sets Record Straight On Future Of Dreamville Fest During Final Performance
On Sunday (April 6), J. Cole headlined the festival for what is the final time under the Dreamville name. The experience was nothing short of incredible. The crowd’s energy was warm and inviting, sort of like AfroPunk before Live Nation got that, too. See a trend? Weather was overcast but warm. The first day was blazing hot.
This year’s lineup was stacked with talent, including 21 Savage, PARTYNEXTDOOR and Lil Wayne (with Hot Boys and Big Tymers), Tems and Erykah Badu. They also had Keyshia Cole, Kai Ca$h & Niko Brim, Bas, Ludacris, Coco Jones, Ab-Soul, Young Nudy, Chief Keef, Ari Lennox, Lute, Omen,GloRilla, BigXthaPlug, J.I.D, Anycia, EARTHGANG, Cozz and others.. Each artist brought their A-game, and the performances felt like a celebration. Festivals are tough, but they made it look easy.
Notably, there were no surprise announcements, no last-minute guests (Badu did pull up) and no tension. The contrast to last year was noticeable. People hoped Kendrick Lamar would step out but NOPE! No peace treaty! There were appearances from TDE and OVO, Ab-Soul and Boi-1da, respectively. It was all love.
Dreamville 2025 felt like the END. People loved the vibes, music and spirit of the event, but we don’t know where this is heading. We really just hope it was worth it. The culture is valuable, which is why they keep buying it up. So, how much did J. Cole actually make from selling the Dreamville Festival? And most importantly, what will it become?
The Dreamville Festival is G.O.A.T.’ed. I guess we shall see, eh?