Music
Woodstock Backers Hope to Export Brand to Other Countries
The original organizers of the counterculture event—now backed by an international marketing agency—are attempting to cash in on its golden anniversary.
The band Jefferson Airplane plays Woodstock on Aug. 17, 1969. The historic music festival in upstate New York marks its 50th anniversary this year.
Photographer: HENRY DILTZ/SONY LEGACYIt was the summer of love, not the summer of profit.
In 1969, Michael Lang and his partners at Woodstock Ventures took a $1.3 million loss on the original Woodstock festival. “Money wasn’t my motivator then,” the 74-year-old said during a recent interview in downtown Woodstock, New York. “I was just so thrilled with what had gone down. ’Cause it was kind of like what we envisioned. Only on steroids. And acid.”