Want A Celebrity To Show Up At Your Party? READ THIS

Ever wondered how to go about inviting celebrities to a private event? Read this. 

When New York financier Andrew Murstein started planning his son’s bar mitzvah party, he decided he wanted a celebration that his son – and his friends – would never forget.

So, he did what many cool dads would do for their teenagers if they could afford it: he hired A-list rapper Nicki Minaj to perform and take photos with the guests.

“It was fabulous. It added a great buzz leading up to the party as word started

spreading that I would have someone (famous),” said Murstein, president of New York’s Medallion Financial Corp. “But I never told anyone who it was.”

It was fabulous. It added a great buzz leading up to the party.

Minaj was a hit. She stayed for about an hour, performing her big hits and taking pictures with the 150 kids attending the party. Murstein, who declined to say how much the Minaj performance cost, said he would hire her again in a heartbeat.

Rapper Nicki Minaj at the 2015 American Music Awards. (Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Everyone loves a good party. So what better way to ensure a successful one than by hiring a celebrity or musician to perform at it? 

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In the case of Murstein’s party, he called the president of a major record label who put him in touch with Minaj’s lawyer. But if you don’t have those kinds of personal connections it is still possible to hire a celebrity for your party.

The process

There are a number of ways to approach hiring a celebrity for an event, but the easiest and the most common is to hire a booking agent who can negotiate on your behalf. 

The Kardashian clan - for hire? (Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Of course, this is not as simple as searching online. “Knowing the person and company you’re using is ultra-important,” said Ari Nisman, president and chief executive officer of New Jersey-based Degy Entertainment, which coordinates roughly 2,000 events a year, many on US military bases around the globe. As with many agencies, Degy doesn’t represent the artists but serves as the-go-between for people who want to hire the, and negotiates on his clients' behalf. “We work for the client and get anyone they want,” said Nisman.

Over the years Degy has booked a very wide variety of acts such as Ne-Yo, The Fray, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons.

Many people want to leave the budget open and that is a mistake. 

It’s important to do your homework about who to trust to help you seal the deal. “There are way too many folks out there who are claiming they have a relationship with the artist,” said Nisman. In November 2015, Alabama State University’s administration was duped by a third-party promoter who claimed to have booked rapper Lil Wayne for the US university's homecoming concert. But no contract was seen or signed, according to a statement by the rapper’s manager, and the concert was cancelled the day before the event.

Alarm bells should ring if anyone asks for a huge deposit up-front or if a firm is unable to give you tangible examples of acts they have booked in the past.

More complicated than you think

Washington, DC-based celebrity agent Mike Esterman has been booking star talent for events for more than 16 years and has seen a lot of changes, the biggest one being how much more complicated the process has become.

In the past, many celebrities would provide a single rate, just like with any other entertainment goods or services, such as a haircut or a dinner out, said Esterman. But in today’s market, he likens hiring a celebrity to booking an airline ticket or shopping for car insurance.  A number of factors determine whether a booking will even take place and what the price will be, from what country the event will take place in to whether it falls on a holiday or if the singer will actually perform or just host an event.

Always keep your options open; never set your sights on one particular artist.

Many people want to leave the budg

et open and that’s a mistake, said Esterman. If you do that, “you’re basically asking the talent to write their own cheque,” he said. Instead, he insists clients set a budget and list a few different celebrities they might consider worth that amount. He can then tell them who might be in that range and how best to secure their services. “This way, everyone’s happy,” he said.

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Since it is the celebrity, not Esterman, setting the fin

al price, it is hard for him to tell a client how much the event will cost in advance. He has seen everything from a $500 budget, “which doesn't get anyone much of anything but a magazine model,” to the band Journey commanding $800,000 for a performance.

He uses his best judgement to suggest what certain celebrities might ask for “but it's up to the talent in the end to agree to their request to move to contract and deposit”.

 A performer’s appearance fee doesn’t include everything.

Clients at Degy Entertainment receive a private pricing list, which is updated monthly, once they come on board, said Nisman. “Every artist can range from $0 to a few million, depending on the level of act, what’s going on with their career, new single dropping, etcetera,” he said. “So it’s impossible to really give a range only because it varies so greatly by the artist.”

Hidden costs

It’s important to keep in mind that a performer’s appearance fee doesn’t comprise the entire cost of hiring the person. There is almost always a list of requirements (known in the business as a rider), which includes the “simple fours: airfare, hotel, local transportation, and meals,” along with any special requests or requirements, according to Esterman.

These can add up quickly, depending on the celebrity, and whether the request is for the whole band or just one individual performer and how big of an entourage or security detail they have.

Want Ne-Yo to sing you happy birthday? It may be possible (Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Once a celebrity and the client agree on a price, Esterman will draw up a contract with 50% due at the time of booking and the other 50% due when the performer arrives, standard in the industry. 

Set parameters

Depending on who the audience is – and the performer – it’s important to include some guidelines as to what you do and don't want.

In the case of Minaj, Murstein had a few requests. “We told her the lyrics had to be clean, the dress appropriate, and to sign autographs and take a picture with all 150 kids,” he said, adding that Minaj complied with all of his requests.

Specifics are good

The more specific you are in your booking proposal, the better, said Sharron Elkabas, founder of London-based MN2S, an international music booking agency.

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“Provide as much relevant information as possible from the on-set in a well presented email,” said Elkabas, who has booked everyone from Boy George to Public Enemy to DJ Jazzy Jeff. “It’s essential that we get a clear and precise idea of what you require. If you provide a thorough proposal, it’s more likely to be processed quickly.”

Be open-minded

It’s important to keep in mind that you might not get the artist of your dreams.

“Always keep your options open; never set your sights on one particular artist,” said Elkabas. “We always recommend that you have a few ‘back up’ options just in case you can’t book your desired act. It’s quite common that an act might not be available on your requested date or the fee might be beyond your budget.”

But, if you do get lucky, get ready to impress your friends.There is a real “wow” factor of bringing in that special name to surprise people, said Degy’s Nisman.

“You can have a wedding band play a Ben Folds Five song, but it’s just not the same as if Ben Folds Five does it,” he said. “It’s really, really special when it is performed by the artist that created it.”

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