Submitted 2 days ago by midnight@feddit.org to [deleted]
One example is FooFighters performed at the launch party Bethesda put on for the Fallout TV show. There's countless others like that.
Bands perform live because it usually makes more money than albums. And if you're offering enough money for a private show, then why not?
Before she was famous Lady Gaga used to hang out at a tiny bar in lower Manhattan. She go-go danced sometimes and was part of the scene of regulars there.
I started working there years later after she had become a superstar and a lot of those regulars still hung out there. She was still tight with them and even in a relationship with my boss. She didn’t come around much though and we had to keep things on the DL.
One night she gave an unadvertised performance in the back room with a jazz combo of some of the regulars backing her. A secret show: If you knew, you knew.
No rich person hired her. She just wanted to do something fun with her friends.
What exactly is “go-go dancing”? Is it a particular style of dance like disco or ballroom? Or is it like stripping?
This is entirely apocryphal, but my friends who are very into blind items and celebrity gossip tell me about “yacht girls.” Famous (but not too famous) women are often invited to rich guy’s yachts as soft escorts. Sometimes there’s sex, often they’re just there to be pretty and flattering. Apparently Zach Effron is frequently a yacht “girl.”
So yes, I think a fairly significant portion of minor celebrity income is from private appearances (of one kind or another). Speaking engagements for businesses or clubs are another big (legitimate) arm of this trade.
It’s probably cheaper to hire Zach Efron to attract a bunch of girls than it is to hire a bunch of girls directly
I believe most artists will do this for enough money, but I’ve heard from a friend who organizes very expensive weddings, that some of the very top performers will not do private shows even for exorbitant amounts of money.
It all depends on the artist. But yes, it’s pretty common
The music industry has a problem. Only the cream of the crop earn any significant money from streaming. Not enough people buy to own music. Lily Allen famously said she earns more money from here foot pictures on OnlyFans than her music on streaming. The only thing artists can earn a bit of money from is concerts. Be it tours or rich people gigs (incl. corporate ones). There are plenty of big budgets available in the top 5%.
And it’s not a new phenomenon. Artists have gotten into how water for performing for Gaddafi’s son, the Chechen strongman, or at the Indian richest guy daughter’s wedding. These stories bubble up and down because there’s controversy. A kpop band performing for the daughter of a run of the mill millionaire is causing yawns in the newsrooms. Now, if he was an arms dealer we’d be in business.
Can confirm. My friend is in a band and I’m featured on a track that used to be on Spotify. I can’t remember the exact numbers, but the listened stat was respectable, but the payout? I think it was about $0.16.
I’m not sure how common it is, but anyone can book a performer. They advertise their prices for private shoes quite openly usually.
Private shoes. I love it
Ha! Yeah, that’s too great to change :)
That’s the secret, and it’s how they keep it hush hush: they don’t take dollars, only shoes. Shoes for the wealthy is like Tide pods for the incarcerated: underground currency. It’s more difficult to hide a shoe in your prison-pocket, but I think the wealthy have people for that.
When you’re fancy enough to bowl in your own.
I once traded two 30 racks to Vince Neil for a garage show and all I had to show for it was a clogged toilet and cigarette burns on my couch.
Are you able to share which group? A lot of older bands that have declined in popularity over the years play for rich people at private parties.
Some people will do just about anything for enough money.
But they’re performers, performing is their job.
Some people will do their job to make money, those greedy jerks!
What a revelation!
$20 is $20.
Of course, it’s absolutely normal: if a company can book an artist what prevents a private person from doing the same? Especially when many rich people have their own companies that they use for all their expenses.
Kwdg@discuss.tchncs.de 2 days ago
Sure, not just for wealthy people but also company events and similar stuff. My company recently had an event and a well known singer performed, afaik the cost was around 80.000$ for a few hours