CNN has vowed to slash costs because the cable network struggles to draw rankings — however it was sending a special message on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend, sources told On The Money.
Dutch DJ Tiësto, who consistently ranks in the highest 5 highest-paid EDM performers on the planet, appeared for around 15 to twenty minutes at CNN’s post-dinner brunch last Sunday.
The “BOOM” musician’s cameo shocked employees as an obscene display of opulence at a time when many journalists are apprehensive about their jobs. Last 12 months, CNN revealed plans to put off greater than 400 people.
CNN boss Chris Licht sought to reassure disgruntled employees that CNN hadn’t actually spent a small fortune on Tiësto’s performance. Earlier this week, Licht told The Day by day Beast’s Lachlan Cartwright that Tiësto “did the set in exchange for a free seat at CNN’s WHCD table.”
But while Tiësto made a transient cameo to get his picture taken on the step and repeat, he didn’t actually attend the dinner, sources confirmed. His wife Annika Backes did attend.
That only stoked speculation that the DJ was getting paid. Neither CNN nor a publicist for Tiësto would deny he was compensated for the event.
A spokesperson for Tiësto said, “He was invited by CNN to attend, and was blissful to hop on for a fast performance on the brunch. He unfortunately wasn’t in a position to attend dinner since it began concurrently his festival performance.”
“Tiësto and his wife were our guests. He proposed a performance as a sort gesture because he’s a friend of CNN,” a spokesperson for CNN said.
Tiësto typically charges anywhere from $200,000 to north of $500,000 for a set, a source near the DJ told On The Money. “He doesn’t do anything without cost,” the source added.
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Employees who attended added that hosting a performer of Tiësto’s caliber was wasted on the brunch. While a couple of hundred guests showed up for brunch on the Line Hotel, there have been closer to only 50 attendees milling around by the point Tiësto began his set around 12:45, sources told On The Money.
“For an organization that prides itself on creating content that reaches the precise demo, it’s ironic they brought in a classy DJ to entertain a bunch of septuagenarians,” One industry insider said. “Underscores a much bigger problem that they don’t know their demo.”
Music insiders were likewise shocked to see Tiësto get behind a DJ booth branded “CNN” – these sources add that for a corporation to have that type of brand adjacency to a top DJ costs more cash than it will if Tiësto played at an event with less fanfare.
Guests included CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Jim Sciutto, Poppy Harlow, and Phil Mattingly in addition to WHCD comedian Roy Wood Jr., Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and Ukraininan Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova.
CNN, which laid off tons of of employees, has been attempting to scrimp and save in recent months. The corporate also decreased the variety of employees allowed to travel to the WHCD on the corporate’s dime this 12 months with the intention to keep costs down, On The Money learned. Staffers who typically make an appearance on the event were told the corporate wouldn’t cover the price of travel this 12 months.
Licht has emphasized the importance of cutting back and told employees last 12 months, “It’s going to be a difficult time for everybody.”
