Is the MTV Video Awards stealing stars from the DNC?
theGRIO REPORT - Obama will accept his party’s nomination on September 6 in North Carolina, and accordingly will be forced to contend with the MTV Video Music Awards in LA...
“Obama is a rock star in his own way, and he naturally attracts a lot of other folks,” says Asare, who handled election outreach for Bad Boy at the 2008 DNC in Denver. “The conventions are usually in secondary markets because those markets are swing states…Denver wasn’t exactly the sexiest city ever. More and more celebrities will want to be a part of it once people start to focus on politics. We’re already starting to get inundated with requests.”
“I think the MTV Awards are gonna be a distraction, but there will still be a ton of entertainment,” he adds.
Nevertheless, Petersen points out that The Roots, while popular, are not to the level of star power as someone like West, thus their fee not likely as lofty. She speculates that because of restrictions on corporate donations, pulling together the necessary funds may be difficult this year for official proceedings as well.
“When the president declared he wouldn’t accept corporate money, it was a very big deal,” she notes. “You have to get really creative with how you contribute to the DNC and that has severely impacted fundraising. The White House thinks it can make $36 million for the convention by selling tickets to the hall on a lottery basis, and selling swag or taking Internet donations. But that hasn’t materialized. And the only other people to give money are rich people, but instead of $200,000 now the limit on individual contributions is $100,000.”
Be it the location, the VMAs or a “malaise attitude” Petersen observes some people demonstrating towards the DNC this year, the interest appears to have faded from Obama’s run in 2008.
Whether or not that energy will be accounted for as the date draws closer can only be speculated. Ryan Costello, co-Founder of EventFarm and Asare’s partner on “StartUp RockOn” admits he, too, hasn’t heard of many A-list functions taking place, and his company also handles ticketing for events at the convention. Despite what he describes as upwards of 250 functions being planned, celebrity names thrown into the mix are minimal.
“There’s still a lot of movement and last minute planning though, sponsors are shifting,” he says. “I talk to people all day long still looking for venue.”
Follow Courtney Garcia on Twitter at @courtgarcia
