Coachella 2026 Goes Vertical: YouTube Adds a Dedicated 9:16 Feed
The livestream includes a vertical feed for the Quasar stage shot on Google Pixel phones, plus multiview and creator commentary. Vertical production reaches the world's biggest festival.
Coachella 2026 is going heavy on vertical.
YouTube’s livestream of the festival includes a dedicated vertical feed for the Quasar stage, shot on Google Pixel phones, alongside multiview and creator commentary. It is the first time a major festival broadcast has treated the vertical frame as a primary production format rather than a social-media afterthought.
Why it matters
Live music is the proving ground for production formats. A festival feed that is shot, switched and distributed vertically, at Coachella’s scale, demonstrates that the 9:16 frame can carry a professional live production and not just a scripted drama edited for phones.
The choice of Pixel phones as cameras is itself a statement about where the format is heading: production tools that are mobile-native, with the capture device and the viewing device sharing a shape.
The association’s interest
VPAA’s remit is vertical production in all its forms. Scripted drama is the largest and fastest-growing sector, but the crews, directors and camera operators learning to shoot vertical at Coachella are the same workforce the drama platforms draw on. Vertical production is taking center stage at the world’s biggest festival. The standards for that production, on credits, rates and conditions, should be the same wherever the frame is turned.