Hire Madonna for Your Party -- C'mon, It's Only $10M
Your fabulous party is practically guaranteed to be a hit if you can hire an A-list performer to make an appearance.
But, of course -- it's going to cost you.
The super-rich are no longer satiated by just having a crowd of semi-famous faces drinking their free champagne and eating their caviar-topped appetizers. Over the last few years a new war has been raging -- a war to nab the biggest stars and greatest performing acts for private soirees and glitzy bashes where money is no object.
The formula goes something like this. You are invited to a garden party that is perfectly catered, with white tablecloths, shiny silver cutlery and blooming flowers from the garden.
Everything seems perfectly ordinary -- at least until the pool is enveloped by a full gospel choir and none other than
or
Mariah Carey
emerges from behind a well-manicured hedge to belt out one of her hits.
By the end of the 45-minute performance the place is on fire, and the hosts are basking in the glory of the most successful party ever seen. At least, until someone else in their social circle outshines them by hosting a bigger name and glitzier performance.
These gigs inevitably include a fashionable fan surrounded by incredibly wealthy, not-so-fashionable party throwers who open their checkbooks and coffers to pony-up for the lavish expenses. Usually the buyer will foot the travel expenses for talent including private planes, first-class hotel accommodations and security staff.
Hip-hop artist
commanded a $500,000 fee for just 30 minutes of work at a private bar mitzvah in Miami Beach. Usually, an artist like him will show up just moments before taking the stage, perform the perfunctory time requested and then hastily make an exit.
"While they are more than willing to accept the money for performing," says Jim Samson, a Miami insider, "there is no amount of money you can pay them to actually socialize at the party."
The Russians are perhaps the most gregarious of the superstar party bookers.
Last year Russian billionaire
hired
to put on a 40-minute show at his wife's 30th birthday party in the Berkshire countryside.
Melnichenko paid around £600,000 ($1.2 million) for the performance, and a further £400,000 to fly JLo's entourage from the U.S. to Britain where the party took place.
The same Russian couple paid a reported £2 million for Christina Aguilera to sing at their wedding in the south of France.
Another Russian billionaire,
head
, brought in the 2008 New Year with a star-studded bash in Moscow starring hip-hop sensation
. The "Umbrella" siren was reportedly paid $500,000 for a 40-minute performance that included Russian dignitaries and business elite like Roman Abramovich.
Unlike the performance by George Michael for Vladimir Potanin last year that reportedly cost $3.3 million, Rihanna was a relative bargain.
Needless to say, Rihanna was provided the utmost of accommodations, including the presidential suite at the new
, complete with emergency generator and private security detail for her six-hour stay.
Reports surfaced recently in the U.K. that
is in negotiations to make her own command performance in the United Arab Emirates, following what will be one of her most profitable concerts to date in Dubai.
On tour for Live Nation, Madonna is rumored to be considering a performance of her new
Hard Candy
compilation for an unnamed Dubai-based tycoon who is willing to pay nearly $10 million dollars for the one-night performance.
Should the concert go forward, it would be the most lucrative private performance to date by any professional singer or recording artist.
If you feel the need for a superstar soiree and don't have the budget of an oil tycoon, you still have options. Several U.S. agencies specialize in booking marquee talent for private parties and special events.
Agencies like
in New York (212-582-7575) specialize in celebrity talent booking that include everything from '60s Motown legends to modern-day pop stars in a moment of financial need. Commanding booking fees of around 20% to 40%, most of these companies are no more than private enterprises who contact the artist's management directly. Ongoing relationships allow some companies to specialize in certain artists, although most performers will work through a variety of booking companies.
If your heart belongs to an A-list star, we suggest you be prepared to shell out seven-figure booking fees.
Those who are a bit more industrious may want to save the money of a booking company and have your assistant or party planner do the grunt work and contact the talent management on your own (via
), pursuing your greatest star desire and price.
You'll probably be treated like a stalker at first, but provided the right details and prompt payment, we're sure most rock stars are just a price tag away -- just as long as it's a six- to seven-digit number.
Michael Martin is the managing editor of JetSetReport.com -- a luxury travel and lifestyle guide based in Los Angeles and London. His work has appeared in In Style, Blackbook, Elle, U.K.'s Red magazine, ITV and BBC.