Tag Archives: rich

Nov 6 2014

“$50,000 for a Perch on Burning Man’s Billionaire’s Row”

Earlier today, I went to check out Fest300. It’s a web site with 6 staff, as well as a crowd-sourced content element, created by Chip Conley – a hotelier who is AirBnB’s head of Global Hospitality and Strategy. Chip is also on the Board of Directors of the Burning Man Project. On the front page of the site, was a Twitter feed linking to an article in Billboard magazine. Among other things, it said:

Last year, Conley launched Fest300 in the vein of lists like the Fortune 500 and Forbes 500. Of what he estimates to be 100,000 total festivals in the world, the Fest300 staff — a team of about six, including Conley, working out of a San Francisco office, with freelancers contributing editorial content — aggregates the best (you guessed it) 300 festivals.

…At only a year old, Fest300 is clocking some steady pageviews: the site had 525,000 unique visitors in September, a number Conley hopes will grow as the company pursues sponsors and advertising — and yes, a possible partnership with Airbnb, though Conley stresses he can’t comment on that yet. “I’m lucky enough that I sold my hotel company and am head of global hospitality and strategy at Airbnb that I can financially underwrite the site,” he says. 

Their traffic makes them a bit smaller than Burners.Me, with our totally unpaid staff of Yours Truly, and the occasional (very welcome and appreciated) guest posts from our beloved readers. We have no sponsors and no advertising; nor do we make commercial advertisements from Burning Man footage like Fest300 does. Gifting, Self-Expression, Self-Reliance, Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Decommodification (the Principle, not the money-making LLC), Inclusion, Leave No Trace, Immediacy, and Participation are some of the principles that underwrite this site. Others can paint, weld, mix, create costumes, take photos, cook, and make blinky lights. I have none of those skills, so writing and Interwebz is my contribution to the “Special Olympics of Art” that is Burner culture. My reward from BMOrg for Gifting my art? People using Burning Man’s internal network come here to abuse me using a variety of false names, and their paid employees slander us on Facebook during business hours.

I’m starting to think that I’m a fool to put thousands of hours in and give this away for free, when everyone else seems to be cashing in on Burning Man wherever they can.

It seems that making money from the festival boom is very much a part of the AirBnB global strategy, and the Fest300 vision too.

Chip is not the only Burning Man Project Director on the take from AirBnB, who launched their service on the Playa this year. Rae Richman left her 9-year job running the Rockefellers Philanthropy Advisers, helping wealthy corporations set up tax-exempt non-profit foundations, to become the head of Global Citizenship for AirBnB. She’s been a BMOrg Director for about 4 years.

There are AirBnB/BMOrg connections at the Executive Level too, though not so direct. Global Initiatives Director Jenn Sander is on stage with them at the CMX Summit in San Francisco this month, with a presentation “How To Build Community: Learning From Burning Man, AirBnB and NASA”. We also recently pointed out the “coincidence” (or is it?) that Burning Man’s Social Alchemist, Bear Kittay’s mentor recently created an investment fund named “Sherpa Ventures” that is financially backed by the same Texas Pacific Group (TPG) who led the AirBnB’s last financing round, supplying $75 million of the $450 million investment. Sherpa also sees big profits in new types of pop-up hospitality:

sherpa ventures new market

Other “hospitality entrepreneurs” on Burning Man’s Board of Directors are Jennifer Raiser, who is now selling a book about Burning Man:

Previously, Jennifer was CEO of Raiser Senior Services, a full-service provider of luxury retirement in the Bay Area, combining health care, dining, and long-term care…Her previous experience includes marketing with Procter and Gamble and BBDO/Omnicom Advertising, and management consulting with Fortune 500 corporations.

…and new appointee Jim Tananbaum, who threw his hat in the ring when he created everyone’s favorite Commodification Camp, Caravancicle. What evidence do we have that he was involved with Caravancicle? Well, he registered their domain name and is specifically named in the legal agreement their participants had to sign.

“…the organizers of the Caravancicle Camp and/or the Burning Man Event, including, but not limited to, Back to Earth Inc., dba ‘dovetail events’, Ari Derfel, Jim Tananbaum, Space Cubes LLC, Brad Peik/Peik Construction Inc./Peik Invstments LLC, Black Rock City, LLC and any and all owners, officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, volunteers, contractors or affiliates of these individuals and entities…”

From http://www.domaintuno.com/d/caravancicle.com

The website was registered by ()

2014 caravansicle

$$$ – I Love $

We have also been told by Burners that he provided the funding to develop The Lost Hotel’s Space Cubes – and we have no reason to doubt that. Caravancicle had 120 VIP guests paying $17,000 each (according to the whistle-blowing sherpa), as well as dozens of paid workers including “Mistresses of Merriment”. $2 million just for a camp at a festival: I think that qualifies JT as one of this “new breed of hospitality entrepreneurs”. To put that number in perspective, it’s about 10% of ticket sales of the entire event. 25 such camps would be making more money than Burning Man itself – while paying their sherpas less than minimum wage, with slave-like working conditions where if they don’t like it, they get dumped in the desert without food, water, or shelter.

The reason I’ve provided such a long-winded introduction to this story, repeating things I’ve already written about, is I’ve been accused on Facebook over the last couple of days of not providing enough evidence to support these claims. Regular readers of this blog will have seen all of this information before, because we always provide evidence and references to back up our claims, and if it’s just speculation, rumor, or theory, we tell you that. Unlike BMOrg, who make statements like “we pay $4.6 million a year to the BLM”, which when we fact-checked with the BLM turned out to be $3.4 million. It seems Burners.Me, a free Gift to the community, is expected by some to operate to a much higher standard of ethics and integrity than BMOrg, which is overseen by an 18-person Board of Directors and makes $30 million a year. Which we do, integrity is not a problem for me – yet it is our site that gets accused of “misinformation”, “yellow journalism”, “not a credible source”, “TMZ”, “Fox News” and so on…but I digress.

“In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act” – George Orwell.

When reading the Billboard piece about Conley’s plans to integrate AirBnB, festivals, and his own site, I was struck by this link in the middle of the story:

Private Jet? No Problem. VIP Packages for Superfans Are Big Business for Tours & Festivals

What was that doing, smack bang in the middle of an article about a Burning Man Director? I clicked the link, and sure enough – Burning Man is mentioned in the story. Not just mentioned: it is highlighted as the “creme de la creme” of packaged festival experiences for VIPs.

From Billboard.com:

image: John Ueland/Billboard

image: John Ueland/Billboard


Due to the exclusive perks they provide and the premium prices they command — from $175 for a 5 Seconds of Summer VIP experience to a whopping $50,000 for a perch on the Burning Man festival’s Billionaires Row — these packages also have become an easy target for media seeking an “us vs. them” class warfare storyline. But architects of these offerings tell Billboard that critics are missing the point.

VIP packages, they say, are about business, not class — an opportunity to generate new revenue streams for the industry by attracting more demanding breeds of concertgoers, including “superfans,” as Breithaupt puts it, who’ve already seen the artist live “and are looking for an elevated experience.”

Jennifer Breithaupt is the senior Vice President of Entertainment Marketing for Citibank, whose job is to create VIP opportunities for their card-holders.

billionaires-row-250

So “Billionaire’s Row” is a thing, now – and this term is being used to market the event in the media.

Dan Berkowitz, founder of CID Entertainment, an innovator in the VIP packaging field, says there also is a market for music lovers who aren’t into roughing it with the sweaty masses at festivals. “These are people who won’t go to a show unless they know they’re going to be comfortable, that meals will be prepared for them, that there will be an air-conditioned bathroom nearby and that they’ll be able to get close to the artist,” he says.

This photo from David Precheur's Facebook seems rather apt

This photo from David Precheur’s Facebook seems rather apt

The concept is not that much different from the first-, business- and coach-class price tiers offered by airlines. “As you get older and more seasoned, you need the luxuries in order to enjoy the experience, and unfortunately this world works on money,” says Dave Precheur, who oversees the priciest VIP experiences in the market, Burning Man’s Billionaires Row, where packages include lodging in RVs outfitted with two queen-size beds, a two-person waitstaff and a private jet charter to the festival site.

Precheur acknowledges that because he caters to “extremely rich individuals,” Billionaires Row has become “a very contentious thing, because Burning Man is supposed to be this super-hippie event” where basic tickets run from $200 to $500. But, he adds, the carping is shortsighted. Revenue from general-admission tickets pays for infrastructure, safety, traffic regulation and emergency medical expenses, but little else. “Most people miss that [Billionaires Row patrons] are the very people that fund the big art, the art cars, all the things that make Burning Man such a spectacular visual and artistic event,” says Precheur.

The use of the word “spectacular” is particularly jarring. Clearly, the Commodification Campers are coming to witness the spectacle. But who is providing it? According to Precheur, it’s the Commodification Campers themselves. We’ve seen no evidence of that: quite the opposite. Caravancicle’s crew were given popsicles to hand out to people, and apparently only one of them even did that.

stuff like this doesn't get made in garages - even if the company founders behind them started out in one

Art Cars like these don’t get made in garages – even if the company founders behind them may have  started out in one

We heard about one camp this year that had more than $5 million of Art Cars – I’m not going to name them, but they were a high-end Burner camp, not a Commodification Camp. What’s the difference? Participation, Gifting, Decommodification, for starters. These cars were funded by individual Burners, and sure, people got paid to build them, install the lighting, tune the stereos – so what? People got paid to make the RVs and tents that Burners stay in as well. Someone got paid to make your food and your bicycle. If you can afford to drop more than a million bucks on an Art Car that you use one week a year to provide awesome music to thousands of people, who cares how nice your accommodation is? One rumor we’ve heard is that Google founder Sergey Brin spent $2 million just on an art installation one year. Good for him! We all got to look at it, that was his Gift to Burners. Thanks for sharing.

BMOrg would like Burners to conflate all this together, saying “they’re all turkey camps, most camps are on the same spectrum, and only a few of them are bad”. You can’t compare creating an Art Car or funding an Art Project, with handing out popsicles and being driven around in a handicapped golf-cart when you’re perfectly able to walk. Living in luxury is fine, if they behave like “We The Burners”. Selling VIP packages that promote “Us vs Them” is not. Gawking at us like a spectacular safari, using us to play “Burner Bingo” to knock the “Big Five” off their bucket lists, and excluding us from camps because we don’t have the right wristbands, is not what Burning Man is all about.

Money, of course, is the key driver behind all this. Festivals can only put ticket prices up so much, before they are forced to look for new revenue streams:

For a festival that grosses $20 million, VIP offerings can add $1 million to the bottom line..

The competition ensures that VIP experiences will evolve. “We keep trying to up the experience, whether it’s something as simple as sunscreen at the shuttle stop or orange slices in the golf carts,” says Berkowitz

The Anonymous Burner who recently leaked us details of 10-packs of VIP Tickets being sold after the OMG sale had closed, said:

image: burningman.com

image: burningman.com

I do know for certain that the transaction occurred post OMG sale! Tickets were “sold” as part of a package deal to mates who flew into Bman, got picked up at the airport and checked into their cube. Each had a bike and or scooter waiting for them and a survival pack, with access to a “handicap registered” golf cart.…and a whole lot of expectation based on the price they paid. Expectations that no Real Burner would ever have and no Camp could have ever fulfilled without everyone pitching in.

I called American Express’s VIP Centurion concierge service that they provide with my black card, and asked them if they had any packages for Burning Man. They didn’t know about any, but said they have a “reputable supplier” in the US who could probably get me tickets: I asked for 10. I’ll update this story if they come back with anything. Perhaps I should shift my accounts to Citibank…

Oct 29 2014

BMOrg Continues to Cover for Commodification Camps

Will Chase has added to the chorus of Commodification Camp justifications we’ve been hearing from BMOrg, with a post saying “what’s all the fuss about? Nothing to see here, move along”:

Virgins and Turnkey Camps Are Ruining Burning Man.

The content of the post is nothing like its title; quite the opposite. He is “Minister of Propaganda”, after all.

We’ve been hearing and reading a lot about Turnkey Camps over the past couple months (haven’t we all?) and I have to say, I’m a little confused by people’s apparent willingness to make or buy into blanket statements and generalizations about Turnkey Camps, virgins, who should be allowed into Black Rock City, etc.

Did some people do bad things? Sure. Are some people “doing it wrong”? Yep. Will it destroy Burning Man? Nope. Are we learning from this year what we can do better in the future? Absolutely. We are bigger than this, and our community can — as it always has — figure it out, adapt and self-regulate. There’s no question in my mind.

2014 sep 3 caravancicle aerial

Wednesday after the Burn. Caravancicle and Lost Hotel still have all their stuff there, regular Burners had to be packed up and gone

Self-regulate? Where the fuck does he think all the regulations come from? Certainly not from the community. It’s not the community saying “hey, you’re rich, cool, how many tickets do you need?  You can leave MOOP, you can exclude Burners from your camps, you don’t have to gift anything. Line up for 8 hours because we can’t mail tickets internationally. Pay royalties to the new LLC called Decommodification. Get insurance for your own art projects, because $30 million’s not enough to cover it. Your art car is public transport that belongs to the whole city”.

As for “blanket statements and generalizations”, that seems to be what we’re getting from BMOrg, not the other way around. The questions I’m seeing from the community have been pretty frikking specific. BMOrg’s definition of “Turnkey camps” is about as general as you can get.

Don’t get me wrong, we’re not apologizing for Turnkey Camps and virgins who may have mis-stepped … nor are we sweeping anything under the carpet.

Oh, you’re not? Could’ve fooled me. I guess you think you have nothing to apologize for – it’s “your” event, after all.

Here are some facts to keep in mind:

  1. Burning Man has always had virgins. It’s how this thing keeps going and growing. In fact, in the early years Black Rock City was sometimes more than 50% virgins, since the event doubled in size from year to year.
  2. The percentage of virgins has been steady for the past few years, between 35% and 40% of the total population.
  3. Not all virgins are clueless twits. Some won’t know what they’re doing, and some will (but we’ll attempt acculturate all of them).
  4. Some of those virgins are never going to “get it”. Most will. (I had no clue what I was doing in 2001, and I’d like to think I turned out OK in the end. Heh.)
  5. Every single year of Burning Man’s existence, people have lamented how it’s all going to pot because [insert reason here] and virgins are doing it wrong. And it hasn’t. (The #1 most common thing I hear from virgins is “I didn’t understand what it was about, how could I possibly have? But now I get it! I’m a Burner!!”)
  6. Turnkey Camps are not all the same. There’s a broad spectrum from “doing it fine” to “doing it horribly”. The percentage in the latter group is small. Very small.
  7. The “tech elite” have always been at Burning Man. Hell, they’re practically what made Burning Man possible.
  8. Burning Man will always change and evolve.
  9. It is in the media’s interest to generate and stir up conflict and scandal and paint black and white pictures, because money.

Talk about trying to change the subject, to dodge the difficult questions. “We’re not trying to sweep anything under the carpet, we just want you all to talk about something else. Because we’re listening. No really, we are! Here’s a list of 9 reasons why your concerns are wrong”

What difference does listening make, in a do-ocracy? Actions speak louder than words. All we’re seeing is words: words that make it seem like actually, BMOrg are not listening.

2014 caravancicle ad

Real ad, offering cash for sherpas on the Playa.

Turnkey camps are a “broad spectrum”, because that’s the way BMOrg is trying to define them. Commodification Camps are not a spectrum – they’re more like a cancer. An alien parasite, leeching off our culture. Contributing nothing to our city. By saying “most camps are turnkey camps, and there are only a tiny number of bad ones”, BMOrg pave the way for as many Commodification Camps as they can sell. It’s a spectrum – “oh, you had one of the bad ones? Not to worry, DPW will pick up that MOOP for you. Better luck next year. We’ll try to acculturate you and socially engineer you so you can move further up the spectrum to where we want you”.

By heavily promoting Burning Man to the mainstream media – from Town and Country to Vogue to the New York Times – BMOrg make tourists want to come. By favoring Virgins in the ever-changing ticketing system, they make it harder for Burners to go. By diverting tickets sold back to STEP in good faith by Burners, and instead selling them in secret for $650 to Commodification Campers, they make a mockery of Burner values – robbing good-hearted Burners of profits that they could be earning from scalping, by telling us it’s “against Burning Man”. By promoting celebrities and politicians, who have “special needs” that somehow prevent them from Self-Reliance, they make Black Rock City more like Any Town, USA.

The community is upset about Commodification Camps “because money”. He got that right. But no-one is objecting to the profits made by the New York Times. I doubt their Burning Man sherpa story was even a drop in their giant ocean of cash. No, we’re upset “because money” – because people are MAKING MONEY from our spectacle which was FREELY GIVEN.

It seems like, in all their listening, BMOrg have totally missed the part where we said we don’t want to be bingo items for safari campers. That’s not why we bring all our art and music and energy and love – why we PAY BMOrg to “let us” bring it. We do that for fun, and to give to each other: not so that a select few can then commercially exploit it, and tell us we’re not invited.

MOOP #fail

MOOP #fail

The community is not upset about Virgins. We’re upset about how experienced Burners can’t get tickets, and long-time camps can’t get placement; meanwhile, Commodification Camps mysteriously get all the tickets they want. We’re upset because we have to pick up after ourselves, while Commodification Camps leave entire blocks worth of MOOP for DPW to collect. We’re upset about selective rule enforcement: one set of rules for insiders, and one for Burners. We’re upset because volunteers slave their guts out for no pay, while tickets that could go to worthy Burners get diverted to paid employees to be the Self-Reliance that Commodification Campers are too lazy to learn for themselves.

We’re upset because BMOrg keeps telling us they’re listening, and keeps writing these posts that show they’re really not.

Let’s re-cap, shall we:

Radical Self Reliance and Rich People at Burning Man – 72 comments, lots of questions from Burners, few answers

How Turnkey Camps Get Placed – 50 comments in a single day, lots of questions from Burners, no answers

Virgins and Turnkey Camps Are Destroying Burning Man – 9 “talking points”, lots of trying to change the topic of discussion, no answers

A Rich Man Dreams of Paradise – 67 comments, no answers

Will says:

It’s part my job to keep my finger on the pulse of the community in Black Rock City.

If so, then maybe you should read all the comments above. That’s your community speaking, right there. What comes out the most? What question does the community want answered, more than any other?

HOW DID THESE CAMPS GET SO MANY TICKETS?

Four different posts on the topic at burningman.com, and still this basic question is ignored like it doesn’t even exist.

despite a sensationalist New York Times article that was inflammatory and inaccurate but had legs, Burning Man was happening in all its diverse glory.

photo: John Curley

Will Crawl, 2014 photo: John Curley

That’s what you think we’re upset about? A single article in the New York Times? Way to have your finger on the pulse, dude.

We firmly believe everybody deserves the opportunity to have a transformational experience, ESPECIALLY the people who may not ‘get it’ right away … they probably need it more than anybody. Is that risky? Possibly, but our culture is so rich that I challenge a newcomer to NOT be impacted by it. And, as our culture gets stronger, it’s harder for a minority element to contaminate it. Think of it like this: if our culture was a thin soup, one carrot could change the whole flavor. But if you toss a carrot into a rich stew like ours, it’s hardly noticeable … but it becomes part of the mix.

The minority element contaminating the culture, appears to be a small group of decision-makers who encourage this commercial exploitation of Burning Man. And guess what: they’re NOT making the culture stronger. I’m listening to the community too, and that’s not what I’m hearing – AT ALL. Quite the opposite, in fact. BMOrg boast that they’re pleased they’ve jumped the shark, but most Burners don’t feel that’s a positive thing for our culture.

I wonder if BMOrg really are getting lots of emails and feedback forms from Burners saying “Commodification Camps are great, there should be more of them” – and somehow, that message just isn’t making it through to social media? Is there some “we love Sherpas, we love MOOP” group on Facebook that I’m not a member of?

caravancicle interaction guide 1

Caravancicle “Interaction Guide”

No-one is denying that virgins should be able to have a transformational experience. Why should Burners be squeezed out, to make room for Commodification Campers who are exploiting the Playa – and all of our free Gifting – for their own financial gain? Why should these camps be allowed to turn Burners away because they don’t have wristbands?

It’s our job to figure out how to get more people to experience Burning Man without compromising our principles in the process (INCLUDING radical inclusion). This is all of our work. And as the event grows in popularity, we’re going to have to work harder. But don’t panic, this stew is really, really good.

Waffle. What will be done? That’s what the community wants to be told, not “you’re all doing it wrong, but we’re doing it great”. And, guess what: it’s not your job to get more people to experience Burning Man. It’s your job to get the permit, and provide the basic infrastructure for the event, so WE can bring our party out there. That’s why we pay you $400 per ticket, of which $13 goes to art and $57 goes to Mysterious Other. We understand it costs money to rent the port-a-potties and pay the cops and build The Man. We didn’t give you that money so you could sell higher-priced tickets to tourists and film us to sell it in YouTube videos and the iTunes store. We’re not paying you to do the job of inviting a bunch of strangers who don’t care about our values and don’t want to learn, who think they’re better than all that. Who come to SEE the spectacle, not BE the spectacle.

If it’s so important to the Burning Man Project to acculturate Virgins and spread its message around the world, then let them do that for the whole rest of the year when we’re NOT putting our party on together, sharing our hospitality and camaraderie out on the inhospitable Playa. Let them divert Virgins to the Regionals, instead of squeezing out long-time Burners. Why kick us out of Black Rock City, to make room for strangers who care nothing for our unique culture and want to exclude us at our own event?

To me it’s quite simple. Radical Inclusion doesn’t extend to people who shit on all the other Principles. Fuck them – it’s They who should be excluded, not we Burners who don’t have the right wristbands for their $2 million camps. If you don’t want to be a Burner, fine, no problem: we don’t want you. It would be easy to sell 70,000 tickets to people – even 40% Virgins – who want to Gift, Include, be Self-Reliant, Participate, make a Communal Effort, and Leave No Trace. Why should it be “bring them in anyway, maybe they’ll get it, maybe they’ll want us to re-educate them so we can move them along the turnkey spectrum?” What about all the people who really do get it, but can’t get tickets? What about all the Burners waiting all year in STEP, hoping that their chance will come up, so they can start planning and preparing for their Burn?

What is it that makes these Commodification Campers so special? Money? Prestige? Power? Why do we need them at all? What about all of us, over nearly 30 years now, who HAVE put in the effort, the blood, sweat and tears? What about OUR feelings? What about OUR city?

Read Will’s full post here.

If you’re not sure what a “Commodification Camp” is, here’s just some of our other coverage on the topic:

Commodification Camp Concerns

Commodification Camps and the Tin Principles

Plug-n-Play Goes All The Way To The Top of the Pyramid

Comfortably Commodified

$2 Million Camps: Gentrification of Burning Man

 

 

caravancicle tshirt

Oct 12 2014

The Great BMOrg Cash-Out of 2010-2017, $35-47 Million: an Updated Estimate

A guest post from our reader A Balanced Perspective, updating his post earlier this year.

breaking bad money

 

The BMOrg Cash Out of 2010-2017, $35-$47 Million, an Updated Estimate

by A Balanced Perspective

I penned The Great BMOrg Cash Out of 2010 to 2016 – $28 Million to $45 Million, Est post in May. This post is an updated estimate of the BMOrg’s cash out based on knowledge gained in the prior few months.

Despite numerous requests to prove anything incorrect within the original post, no person proved anything incorrect, except I didn’t include the cash from images and trademarks licensing revenue streams; I was naive in the belief of California 501(c)3 laws requiring disclosure of the BMOrg’s large conflicts of interest; DPW labourers are employees, not contractors as I believed, but the cash they were paid is not sufficient to change the estimate; and the other Burning Man Project (the Project) board members were elected for terms of two years, not one year. I penned the post upon this rubbish solely from a belief in fair play, a belief of the awesome Burning Man community, and all awesome Burners whom contribute to throwing the incredible crowd sourced parties, must be treated, by the BMOrg, in a fair manner.

In the manner of the prior estimate, this estimate is based upon simple maths on their statements, their numbers, and their corporate records.

Click on the numerous links for the supporting statements, numbers, and corporate records. Might any person might prove any number or statement to be incorrect, please do so within the comments on this site.

Please disclose if you have signed any contract to be a representative of the BMOrg, or if you are a member of their social media crew. I’m much obliged, Elizabeth, for editing my draft, and to a brace of our brilliant mates for their assistance towards an improved understanding of the financial maneuvers.

A summary of their $35 million to $47 million cash out, mostly tax free, capitalistic cash out, based on simple maths on their afterburn reports, the Scribe’s brilliant SFBG reporting, Decommodification Incorporated and Clarification of Decommodification posts by burnersxxx, on their corporate records, and Larry Harvey’s statements.

Background and Organizational Summary

Black Rock City LLC (BRC LLC) was incorporated in 1999 with Larry Harvey, Marian Goodell, William Roger Peterson, Crimson Rose Elliot Peterson, Michael Danger Ranger Mikel, and Harley Dubois as owners. They are permanent Project board members, per the Project’s bylaws. Marian is the Project’s CEO and/or President, Larry is the Project’s Executive Director, William Roger Peterson as the Project’s Director of Nevada Relations and Special Projects, and Harley Dubois is the Project’s Transition Manager and Black Rock City Manager. I refer to these six as the BMOrg within this post, in due of they are in near total control over their for-profit and non-profit corporate entities. Their precise salaries and positions upon the Project may be obtained by viewing and copying the minutes of the Project board meetings, physically available to any person venturing to their Alabama Street headquarters, as per CA 501(c)3 law and page 36 of the Project’s bylaws.

At the conclusion of 2013, they donated the BRC LLC, which does business as Burning Man, and manages the Burning Man event, to the 501(c)3 non-profit Project, and thus obtained a huge tax deduction in return. The BRC LLC is presently a for-profit subsidiary corporation of the 501(c)3 Project, all profits from the Burning Man event flow up onto the Project’s ledger.

The Great BMOrg Cash Out of 2010 to 2017

2010:
a) Over $4 million of salary. Payroll increased from $2.8 million in 2009 to $7.2 million in 2010, with solely 30 salary employees, temporary salary labourers (DPW), and the six LLC owners to pay as Senior Staff. The contract labourers were paid solely $231,783, and legal and consultants were paid $1,468,000. In 2009, the contract labourers were paid $161,000, thus the increase of payroll isn’t DPW being switched from contract labourers to payroll, it’s a legitimate $4.4 million increase year over year. Thus, unless the salaried employees were paid, on average, over $90,000 each, or the pay of DPW labourers increased far over $500,000, the six prior BRC LLC owners took over $4 million of payroll towards their pockets. Kudos to Woody for providing a spreadsheet clearly illustrating the huge increase of their salaries from 2009 to 2010.

2011:

a) $4 million of salary from $7.1 million of payroll

2012:
a) $4 million of salary from $7.8 million of payroll

b) $100,000 from licence of images. Decommodification LLC, their pass-through royalties company, was formed in November 2010. The BMOrg, previously through their BRC LLC, has been taking 10% of the revenue from licensing of images since 2002. It is believed the 10% levy, a site fee, or a percenage of profits is now going to their for-profit licensing royalties company, Decommodification LLC.

2013:
a) Over $3 million of salary from $7.0 million of payroll.

b) $300,000 from licence of images, primarily from Spark: A Burning Man Story, to their Decommodification LLC. I’m not of the ability to estimate a value upon their income from their Youtube channel, their Ignite! site, print, or upon other potential sources of image licence revenues, thus, I didn’t include other potential revenues in this estimate.

c) $1,000,000 from the licence of their Burning Man(TM) name and trademarks )'(, paid to their Decommodification LLC. The Burning Man(TM) name, and other trademarks, were previously transferred from their BRC LLC to their Decommodification LLC. The BMOrg stated $4.5 million was paid to the BLM, but the BLM, upon being queried, stated they received $3.5 million. Since the original afterburn line was “BLM and other usage fees, and in due of their false statement, I’m estimating the missing $1 million was a usage fee for licensing the Burning Man(TM) name and trademarks. The BMOrg is encouraged to inform us, and the Reno Gazette Journal, where’s the missing $1 million?

d) End of 2013, $1 million to $4 million of cash and properties. They donated their BRC LLC to the 501(c)3 non-profit Project, gifting the event back to the community, as was repeated throughout Spark, though first the BRC LLC was likely stripped of cash towards their pockets, and property towards Black Rock City Properties LLC, of unknown ownership. The cash was likely not a large amount, most profits from prior burns were apparently taken as salaries and trademark licence levies. We won’t know the amount of cash stripped from the BRC LLC ledger prior to the donation, despite Larry stating otherwise, we’ll only know, sometime in 2016, the cash remaining on the ledger post the donation.

They obtained brilliant advice on this donation. They are already taking most of the cash profits from seven years of the Burning Man(TM) event towards their pockets, so how might they gain even more cash? Their donation of the BRC LLC towards the 501(c)3 Project results in their cash out being mostly tax free, perhaps a tax deduction of $30 million to $45 million, 1x or 1.5x sales, due to the future revenues of the BRC LLC from the Burning Man(TM) event, and comparable valuations from purchases of EDM rave festivals. Perchance, they deferred salary from prior years to 2013, terming it a loan, and obtained the benefit of gaining more cash tax free.

2014:
a) $4 million to $6 million from 2014 ticket sales, held in reserve, or held in escrow, for the purchase of the Burning Man(TM) name and trademarks from their Decommodification LLC in early 2017. That’s when Larry states they will be paid for their value, that’s when they will officially cash out. I estimated $4 million of each year of 2014, 2015, and 2016, in due of that was their, by simple maths upon their numbers, prior salary, it would be unreasonable to estimate a smaller number. The $6 million high estimate is due to the Burning Man event revenues increasing from $12 million in 2009, the year prior to their salaries were first increased to over $4 million, to nearly $30 million in 2014. Thus, $6 million is not an unreasonable estimate. This results in a total payment of $12 million to $18 million for the Burning Man(TM) name, logo )$( and other trademarks in early 2017.

The BRC LLC places the cash in reserve, or escrow, each year, but it’s not a completed deal. The value of the Burning Man(TM) trademarks increased since the price might have been set in 2011, and the acceptance of this amount is subject to a vote by the six former BRC LLC owners, though their vote does have to be unanimous to not accept the cash. Financial maneuvers might also occur, perchance donating Decommodification LLC to the 501(c)3 Project for additional tax deductions, after the assets of Decommodification LLC are stripped away to yet another LLC, in the same manner as the BRC LLC was donated to the Project, after the trademarks and other assets were stripped towards their Decommodification LLC.

Mandatory conditions were attached upon the donation of the BRC LLC to the Project, as is the usual for large donations, and some of the conditions are reflected within the Project bylaws, updated at the time of the donation. Burners have not been informed of these conditions, and the plan, might be something Burners don’t expect at all.

b) 500,000 to $1 million in salaries. They are entitled to reasonable salaries for their positions on the 501(c)3 Project. As stated prior, their precise positions and salaries are available on the Project board meetings minutes.

c) $1 million for licence of the Burning Man(TM) trademarks. The $1 million amount in 2013, perchance was decided during the middle of 2013, thus the licence levy might be higher than $1 million for the complete year of 2014.

d) $500,000 to $800,000 for licence of images of Burning Man, primarily from Spark: A Burning Man Story, distributed on Netflix, Showtime, and other channels. The ticket terms state the licensing of images at Burning Man, i.e., images of the art, mutant vehicles, theme camps, and Burners, is controlled by the BRC LLC, and Decommodification LLC. There is no rationale their for-profit Decommodification LLC is within the ticket terms, other than to take licensing revenues towards their pockets.

Thus, by this simple estimate based upon their numbers and their statements, in 2014 Where Your Ticket Money Goes  is $85 to $130 of each ticket is directed towards their pockets, in place of towards awesome Burners throwing this crowd sourced party.

2015:
a) $4 million to $6 million from 2015 ticket sales, held in reserve, or held in escrow, for the purchase of the Burning Man(TM) name and other trademarks from their Decommodification LLC in early 2017.

b) $500,000 to $1 million in reasonable salaries.

c) $1 million for licence of the Burning Man(TM) trademarks, paid to their Decommodification LLC.

d) $400,000 to $800,000 for licence of images of Burning Man, paid to their Decommodification LLC.

2016:
a) $4 million to $6 million from 2016 ticket sales, held in reserve, or held in escrow, for the purchase of the Burning Man(TM) name and trademarks from their Decommodification LLC in early 2017,

b) $500,000 to $1 million in reasonable salaries.

c) $1 million for licence of the Burning Man(TM) trademarks, paid to their Decommodification LLC.

d) $400,000 to $800,000 for licence of images of Burning Man, paid to their Decommodification LLC.

Early 2017:

As penned within this estimate, the Burning Man Project, or its BRC LLC subsidiary, is scheduled to purchase the trademarks from Decommodification LLC, including the Burning Man(TM) name, )$( logo, and additional trademarks, such as Decompression(TM) and Decommodification(TM). That’s when they’ll be paid for their value.

Thus, $35 million to $47 million of cash is directed towards minting them, mostly tax free. Upon averages, each of the six former BRC LLC owners will pocket as much cash as was commissioned by them for all the art, including the temples, in the entire history of Burning Man, which is less than $7 million, per the afterburn reports.

cash cowIF ANY PERSON MIGHT PROVE ANY OF THIS ESTIMATE TO BE INCORRECT, PLEASE DO SO IN THE COMMENTS BELOW ON THIS SITE. I would be very much obliged, towards obtaining improved information upon their seven year cash out.

Not a shabby capitalistic pocketing for a bottom up crowd sourced party that awesome Burners have thrown for two decades upon our theme camps, mutant vehicles, art projects, and the labours of thousands of Burner volunteers.
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Opinion – A Fair Manner Forward

The BMOrg must:

a) Disclose the details of their cash out to numerous people whom donate cash, art, and volunteer labour to the 501(c)3 Project. The BMOrg must also disclose their large conflicts of interest to thousands of donors gifting art, volunteer labour, mutant vehicles, sound camps, theme camps, and others providing entertainment to ticket buyers. Tickets sold by Black Rock City LLC, dba Burning Man, a subsidiary corporation of the Project, is the primary source of cash going into the pockets of the six people controlling these corporations. They are firmly in control of the Project, and most are also on the BRC LLC board. I believe it dishonourable of them to hide, from donors, the cash directed to their pockets through bureaucratic processes, misdirections and omissions, and false statements, while remaining firmly in control. I’m of the opinion they must act in the manner people believe a 501(c)3, licensed by the State of California, and receiving donations, must act.

b) Disclose the mandatory conditions attached to the donation of the BRC LLC to the Project. Burning Man states, “Over time, however, it is likely that the event will evolve in ways that support the efforts of the non-profit in more distinct ways than are currently apparent or even yet explored“. It is fair for Burners to know, and have great input, into the 100 year plan.

c) Place independent Burners, whom truly represent the awesome Burning Man community, on the Project Board, in place of your mates, fund managers and corporate executives.

d) Distribute most tickets through the awesome Burning Man communities, in place of over the Internet. Rebuild the Burner community in this manner. If people desire tickets, they might obtain tickets by making connections within the Burner community by contributing to the bottom up crowd sourced parties. Permit volunteers to purchase several tickets for their mates. Gift several thousand tickets to mutant vehicle owners, sound camps, theme camps providing entertainment, and artists, whom contribute mightedly towards throwing the crowd sourced party on the playa. Permit them to sell the tickets, at listed price, to their campers and others to defray the costs of their incredible gifts to the community, and of providing entertainment to the BMOrg’s ticket buyers.

e) Negotiate a fair contract with the awesome artists, collectively. Fair is not divide and conquer, nor reimbursing artists solely 30% to 40% of their costs, solely $12 of each $380 or $650 ticket sold to Safari Camps.

f) Pay those whom labour, for more than a brace of weeks, a fair wage. Might you pay an additional 100 awesome DPW arses an hourly wage of $15 for two months, it is $500,000, solely $8 of each $380 or $650 Safari Camp ticket. Add in another $4 per ticket for raising the wages paid towards the DPW to a fair value.

‘ABalancedPerspective’

 

[Update 12/1/14 2:49pm]

Within this estimate, I estimated for 2010, over $4 million of salaries were paid towards the six prior BRC LLC owners, in due of the payroll rising from $2.8 million in 2009, to $7.2 million within 2010, with solely 30 salary employees, as Larry stated to the sfpublicpress.

The BMOrg, upon their new burningman.org website, states they, at present, have 70 employees or contractors labouring for the Burning Man Project. Except, the estimate of their cashout for 2014 to 2017 does not have anything, in the least, to do in regards of the number of employees or contractors at the present time. Their cashout, of 2014 to 2017, is payment for their Burning Man(TM) trademarks in early 2017, licence of their Burning Man(TM) trademarks each year, licence payments, from others, for images of Burning Man, and salaries in due of their positions upon the Burning Man Project. All above, except salaries, by appearance, are in due of contracts penned prior to 2014.

Please view the post, above, for this information, with payment towards them, of an estimated $85 to $130 of each ticket sold for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 burns