Chicago, Il -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/28/2007 -- The New Year’s Eve is almost here and everyone is looking for the place to be. Event producers of all sorts are organizing parties to welcome the New Year, but what are they doing to grab your attention? We went hunting online for the best party treats to offer this 2008 New Year’s Eve celebration and found just about everything, from overpriced celebrity appearances to the first complete live act auctioned on eBay.
If you have the cash, you can hire a famous artist for a private performance at your party, but it won’t come cheap. According to a poll of event planners by Us Magazine, for the 2006 New Year’s Eve celebration a private performance by Usher or Maria Carey went for about a million dollars. Even if you only want the celebrity to show up it can cost a few hundred thousands. The New York Post reported that Britney Spears was paid $260,000 to celebrate last New Year’s Eve at a Las Vegas club for less than two hours. According to the same sources, you will need more than $100,000 to get Usher, Paris Hilton or Demi Moore to party with you. If this is over your budget, you can always shop for more conveniently priced celebrities. Kevin Federline reportedly asks from $10,000 to $25,000 to hang out with you for about two hours. Tara Reid will show up for $10,000 to $50,000 and Carmen Electra for around $20,000. This may still seem like a lot, but even third-tier celebrities that you vaguely remember from some reality show won’t come cheap. According to a top-level talent agency website that works with reality-TV celebrities, any appearance fee will start at $5,000 plus travel and lodging.
This year, however, event organizers have one additional choice: To get a live show performance on eBay. The Makers of Sense, an electronic-music duo from Chicago, are offering their New Year’s Eve show to the highest bidder at the popular internet auction website. “Some of these prices in the entertainment market make absolutely no sense”, said Cristian Huepe, a.k.a. labo_labs, one of the band members. “The entertainment industry has pushed so hard the idea that only celebrities know how to party that we are willing to pay these ridiculous amounts just to have a somewhat famous character hanging out at the other side of the hall,” he added.
But party organizers are not actually only paying to hang out with celebrities; they are after the free press and notoriety that comes with them. It is in fact this same free promotion that is driving the bidding for the Makers of Sense show. “On this new year’s eve, all the parties will be competing for attention” said Justin Rickles, a Hollywood event planner. “Having the first auctioned live show can be just the boost you need to distinguish your party from the thousands of others that are being organized in big cities.”
And some promoters are taking notice. With almost three days to go the bids continue to rise, although they have only reached a fraction of the amount paid for celebrity appearances. “If you think about it, it’s kind of ridiculous to offer all our energy in a powerful, interesting, and entertaining act for much less than what the crappiest reality-TV celebrity asks for just showing up”, said Brother El, the other member of Makers of Sense, “but we are actually happy to do this, since we’ve had such a great response at every one of our shows”. So how much will the Makers of Sense go for? We will have to wait until the eBay auction 280185095576 closes this Thursday, December 27th, to find out... just make sure to include shipping and handling.
Celebrities, Live Shows, and Performance Auction to Hype up New Year’s Eve Parties