Summerlands Artists
Before people start complaining about the summerlands artist and how we don’t get good artists (subjective because I do think they’ve outdone themselves with Ravyn Lenae considering past years)
When ranking UC spring concert budgets based on financial "outcome," the distinction is between campuses that cover 100% of the costs via mandatory fees (making the event "free" at the door) and those that use a hybrid model of fees plus ticket sales.
The following ranking reflects the total available "pot" for these events in 2026, considering both student fee subsidies and external income:
UC San Diego: $1.4 million
UC Davis: $600,000 – $800,000 (paid entry)
UC Santa Barbara: $400,000 – $600,000
UC Riverside: $380,000 – $450,000
UC Irvine: $330,000 – $400,000 (not accounting for APAD, summerlands alone)
At campuses like UCI and UCSB, high production costs for outdoor park venues often eat 40–50% of the budget before a single artist is paid, which is why their talent lineups seem lower.
ASUCI Operates on a 1.6 Million budget, significantly lower than many ASs, we do not have a separate concert fee either.
Our budget for “Talent” is only 235k (https://asuci.uci.edu/budget/ )