Has any recent party had as much written about its behind-the-scenes machinations as this week's Rolling Stone event? Intended to mark the magazine’s 1,000th issue, the bash on Thursday, May 4, has sparked plenty of turmoil at publisher Wenner Media, which in turn sparked plenty of coverage and speculation from media reporters and bloggers, most of it centering on RS founder Jann Wenner.
The coverage seems to have had an effect on Wenner's plans for the party, causing him to ban press from the event. We hear that when he returned from a trip to Bhutan, he changed much of the original strategy for the event. As of Friday, he had scrapped the original plan for a red carpet arrivals area. "Basically, it's a party for his friends," someone involved in the event told us, “as well as staffers and advertisers.” (The source acknowledged that those plans are likely to change again—that’s been the pattern so far at least.)
Back in February, Wenner fired the magazine's publisher, Steve DeLuca, reportedly because of a dispute over the party's location. DeLuca was upset the party moved from Rockefeller Center to Hammerstein Ballroom because he had sold advertisers based on the original location.
Later, The Post's Keith Kelly reported that Rockefeller Center proved too expensive ("$1.5 million or higher" by Kelly's high estimation) and added a host of sponsorship issues. Toyota's sponsorship of the Today show's concert series there would require the car maker to have signage at the event, which might not help the mag sell car advertisers into the issue. And RS's stickler-in-chief added his own pressure. "Wenner is driving everyone crazy," Kelly quoted "one insider" saying. "He keeps changing his mind."
Booking the Strokes to perform added more publicity—although we had heard the party was originally intended to have a fuller lineup with a classic act representing the era of the mag's founding. WWD described a last-minute dispute over the group's fee. (After the band rearranged its tour schedule, either Wenner tried to lower the amount, or the band asked for more money, the differing accounts go.)
Then last week, Gawker suggested that most RS employees were not invited. They then amended that story to say editorial staffers were invited, but the marketing team might not be.
Which is all to say: This party needs to be a barnstormer to be half as interesting as its backstory. Not that we're likely to find out first-hand—after originally getting a warm response from the RS PR department, we were told we wouldn't be able to cover the event. So if you're invited, let us know how it goes: email us at [email protected].
Posted 05.02.06
The coverage seems to have had an effect on Wenner's plans for the party, causing him to ban press from the event. We hear that when he returned from a trip to Bhutan, he changed much of the original strategy for the event. As of Friday, he had scrapped the original plan for a red carpet arrivals area. "Basically, it's a party for his friends," someone involved in the event told us, “as well as staffers and advertisers.” (The source acknowledged that those plans are likely to change again—that’s been the pattern so far at least.)
Back in February, Wenner fired the magazine's publisher, Steve DeLuca, reportedly because of a dispute over the party's location. DeLuca was upset the party moved from Rockefeller Center to Hammerstein Ballroom because he had sold advertisers based on the original location.
Later, The Post's Keith Kelly reported that Rockefeller Center proved too expensive ("$1.5 million or higher" by Kelly's high estimation) and added a host of sponsorship issues. Toyota's sponsorship of the Today show's concert series there would require the car maker to have signage at the event, which might not help the mag sell car advertisers into the issue. And RS's stickler-in-chief added his own pressure. "Wenner is driving everyone crazy," Kelly quoted "one insider" saying. "He keeps changing his mind."
Booking the Strokes to perform added more publicity—although we had heard the party was originally intended to have a fuller lineup with a classic act representing the era of the mag's founding. WWD described a last-minute dispute over the group's fee. (After the band rearranged its tour schedule, either Wenner tried to lower the amount, or the band asked for more money, the differing accounts go.)
Then last week, Gawker suggested that most RS employees were not invited. They then amended that story to say editorial staffers were invited, but the marketing team might not be.
Which is all to say: This party needs to be a barnstormer to be half as interesting as its backstory. Not that we're likely to find out first-hand—after originally getting a warm response from the RS PR department, we were told we wouldn't be able to cover the event. So if you're invited, let us know how it goes: email us at [email protected].
Posted 05.02.06
