Digital City

From A-listers to F-listers, everyone in Hollywood seems to be capitalizing off celebrity appearances.



For club promoters and celebrity booking agents, it's big business. Nightclubs, corporations and even teenyboppers, thanks to MTV's My Super Sweet 16, all want celebrities to host their functions and events. But what's the attraction for the stars?

For one, it's easy money. According to TSE Sports & Entertainment, top-name celebrities charge around $50,000 to show up at a nightclub for two hours. Not a bad hourly rate. The B-list fee is around $25,000. Usually the club also assumes all expenses for the celebrity and his or her entourage.

Nightclub appearances often involve walking the red carpet as well. In return for generating media coverage for the club, the celebrities typically receive all sorts of freebies and goodies in addition to cash payments.

A celebrity appearance stirs up lots of buzz for nightclubs, parties and other events. More people will attend the party and they are willing to pay a high cover charge if they know a celebrity will be there. For the most part, club owners and promoters agree that celebrity appearances are well worth the cost. When Britney Spears hosted PURE's New Year's Eve countdown in Vegas, the club sold a table next to Spears for $50,000 and more than 3,000 partygoers popped for $250 tickets. Just goes to show press is priceless.

But don't think the celebrity appearance business is insulated from the economic downturn. Even big stars have had to reduce their fees during tough times. Lesser-known celebs desperate for work, such as The Hills cast member Jason Wahler, MTV's Real World Brooklyn cast, Mario Lopez, Daisy De La Hoya and more, are offering appearances at budget prices.

Party promoters are also cutting costs by hiring radio jocks or DJs instead of big-name stars. Promoters say radio jocks and DJs are more affordable, have name recognition and a built-in fan base. As as added bonus, the jock or DJ may even be able to give a shout-out to your party on the air.

Reality TV stars are another popular alternative as thy are becoming less expensive and more attainable. With the popularity of reality TV and so many new shows being produced each year, there is a steady stream of new reality TV celebrities available for public appearances. The constant influx helps drive down cost of appearance fees. It's the simple principle of supply and demand.

Hiring a celebrity host is certainly not without its risks. There's no guarantee that a celebrity will show up. In fact, many celebs are famous for pulling out at the last minute claiming excuses such as a "scheduling conflict" or as Beyonce said last June, she was just "too busy" to show up for her planned performance at New York City's M2 nightclub. Just be careful, all you too-hot-to-trot celebs, burning bridges may come back to haunt you.