Only celebrities get paid to have babies

Jennifer Lopez gave birth to twins — a boy and a girl — on Friday, February 22, 2008 at the North Shore University Hospital in Long Island, NY. It’s being reported that People Magazine offered up to $6 million for exclusive photos of the newborns.

News of celebrities getting paid large sums for exclusive photo rights by big magazines is not new. Christina Aguilera is reported to have sold off her recent newborn photos for about $1.5 million, while Nicole Richie (who also recently gave birth) took in $1 million for exclusive photo rights. Angelina Jolie and her husband sold pictures of Shiloh to People for $4 million, but gave all of the proceeds away to good causes. There’s no word yet on how Lopez will spend/keep/donate her reported $6 million sum. But it’s pretty clear that she doesn’t really need it.

The image above is taken from Advertising Age, which has an article about how exclusive baby photos don’t always necessarily result in an increase in magazine sales.

Celebrity weeklies, which rely on checkout and newsstand sales more than most magazines, are in hot flux. All have recently raised cover prices; Star, In Touch and Life & Style have cut circulation; and OK, the newest, keeps growing — at great expense.

Graydon Carter was once famously accused of putting Paris Hilton on Vanity Fair’s cover because she represented “newsstand crack.” Now we see the next generation: newsstand crack babies. The question is precisely who’s addicted.

The fact that “exclusive baby photos” doesn’t lead to more magazine sales should be rather obvious considering the speed at which these photos get scanned, posted, and then linked to on the internet. It’s “free” if you know where to look. Actually, it’s free in your local magazine shop — just stand in there and flip through the magazine and then put it back once you’re all done.