There are many festival versions that we can refer to and think of “I wish I were there.” In fact, there can be plenty of reasons to envy attendees, whether for a great lineup, perfect headlines, or the fact that the weekend is now iconic, forever ingrained in popular culture.
On the other hand, Woodstock 99 is tough.
The lineup was star-studded, the headlines were huge and there’s no doubt that July weekend is an icon. On the other hand, it can be remembered for the wrong reasons, as a new Netflix documentary explains.
Trainwreck: Woodstock 99 is a three-part limited series that premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. It looks at the titular musical event through interviews with some of the behind-the-scenes folks and attendees, mixed with archival footage.
The highly anticipated cultural event was plagued by bad weather, violence, vandalism, fires – you name it.
Trainwreck spills all the details but may leave audiences curious about the entire pay-per-view status of Woodstock 99. So, what is all this about?
Woodstock 99 pay-per-view explained
In the documentary Trainwreck, we learned that representatives from the American channel MTV were present at Woodstock. Basically, they had reporters and hosts walking around and capturing what was going on, talking to festival-goers and occasionally encouraging them to act crazy for the camera.
MTV stated in 1999 that it would offer pay-per-view packages for the three-day event. A one-day purchase costs $29.95, while a three-day package costs $59.95. It was claimed that the pay-per-view channel would be the “place to go” for those not in attendance. MTV had covered Woodstock 94 on pay-per-view, and had reportedly made an impressive $9 million in sales.
In the end, pay-per-view allowed fans to experience Woodstock at home for a fee, and granted access to exclusive festival footage.
However, The Guardian reported that the MTV hosts were becoming increasingly “terrified” as attendees began “tossing them with rockets” as the festival began to descend into chaos.
Train wreck: Woodstock 99 | Official Trailer | Netflix
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Train wreck: Woodstock 99 | Official Trailer | Netflix
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There was a backlash
Some of Trainwreck’s pay-per-view channel footage is used up and we see MTV hosts shocked by the mounting devastation.
MTV reported in 2000 that the telecast was promoted as “uncensored” and critics argued that it did not show people at home what they would have watched if they were present. Instead, critics have complained about the pay-per-view offering Much moreclaiming that the actions of the attendees sometimes outweigh the music.
‘Become more of an MTV event’
Speaking for MTV, Woodstock 99 arranger Michael Lange spoke to Billboard in 2009 and was asked to consider Woodstock 99.
“I was convinced it was time to move into the new millennium, at scale,” he said of the festival’s lineup. “I thought it would be more of a band feel, but that was a time [music] He was very excited. There was a lot of anger, and I think that happened.”
He added, “It was a great lineup. I think we had a total of 300 bands this weekend, but I think it was pretty irritating. It’s become more of an MTV event than a Woodstock event.”
Trainwreck: Woodstock 99 is streaming exclusively on Netflix.
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