Beyonce, Bieber, The Prodigy, Jay-Z and more
Adam Tait

11:45 28th February 2013

No one can deny that it was a ballsy move from Maldon Council when they tried to book Beyonce to appear at their annual street carnival, but apparently the £50,000 fee they were asked to stump up was a bit more than they were hoping for. 

But they might be kicking themselves when the realise what a good deal they had on their hands.

Considering Evanescence still charge $250,000 for an appearance, and it'll cost you $500,000 to have Hilary Duff show up to your shindig, £50,000 is a steal for one of the world's biggest recording artists.

In fact Beyonce has been paid $2m for private appearances in the past, and she's not the only one.

Gigwise takes a look at ten stars who will happily come to your party, for a price.

  • Mariah Carey - Mariah will play a four song set for you for just $250k (about £164,515). Per song. So that's a million dollars then. For four songs.

  • Christina Aguilera - Ms Aguilera was paid $1m (about £658,094) to play an hour long show at a private Halloween party.

  • Lily Allen - Apparently it will cost 150,000 pounds to have Lily appear at your party - but she'll sing to a backing track, not with a band. Obviously she'll need petrol money and somewhere to stay too. That was in 2008, though, so perhaps it'll cost more to get her away from her family now.

  • Jay-Z - Jay-Z was paid $1m (about £658,094) to perform at a private Las Vegas New Year's Eve party. Half what his wife was paid, so presumably she bought the Christmas presents.

  • The Prodigy - Considering the legendary status The Prodigy enjoy in the UK and around the world, £250k for a private appearance really isn't too bad.

  • Roxy Music - If you want to see Roxy Music appear at your party it'll cost you a cool £200k, but that doesn't include production costs (stage, lights, sound board etc) or the cost of the band's rider.

  • Cher - Revelling in her role as a living legend, Cher charges $1.5m (just under a million pounds sterling) to appear at a private function.

  • Jamiroquai - It'll apparently cost 500k to have Jamiroquai come and perform at your party. But the cost doesn't end there. You'll need to provide accomodation for the band (five star hotel) and the crew if they have to stay the night (four star hotel). Jay Kay needs a suite, and then you'll need to book 18 single rooms with king size beds. The additional rider is just 'usual band rider stuff', so that's a silver lining.

  • Justin Bieber - The teen pop superstar was paid $1m (about £658,094) to play an hour-long private show. We think the money is going towards expanding his colection of hats.

  • Kanye West - Kanye West charged the president of Kazakhstan $3million for private show, proving that it doesn't matter how controversial the political figure - Weezy is ready to sign the dotted line.

  • Beyonce - Queen Bey was once paid $2 million to perform on a private island at New Year's Eve. Sometimes, if you drive a hard bargain, she's willing to reduce that fee to a modest $1 million. Only if you are a princess though. An actual one.


Photo: WENN.com