Last week, a surprise announcement from the Philadelphia mayor’s office of its intent to cancel the annual Made in America festival after this year’s weekend festivities shook the Roc Nation family to its core. According to COO Desiree Perez, the Roc Nation production has contributed $102.8 million in economic impact to the city annually since its introduction in 2012; and the mayor’s announcement felt brash and offensive in the face of such achievements. The news caught like wildfire – JAY-Z penned an epic open letter to the mayor expressing his disappointment with the decision and urged the city to consider their value. While celebrities chimed in on social media, other cities offered to adopt the festival, and the mayor backtracked the initial statements from his office and issued a redaction with a hope for compromise. Lucky for fans of the fest, the two sides united in an agreement Monday with a joint statement from both Mayor Jim Kenney and Roc Nation’s Desiree Perez vowing not only to continue hosting the city’s beloved MIA festival in its original location at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, but to keep the production thriving for years to come:
“I am greatly appreciative of everything that Made in America has done for the City of Philadelphia and I remain committed to its continued success. The Made in America festival belongs in Philadelphia – the birthplace of our country – and I’m optimistic that we can turn an unfortunate misunderstanding into a positive outcome and even stronger event. I look forward to working with Roc Nation and Live Nation, and maintaining this Philadelphia tradition for years to come.”
-Philadelphia Mayor Kenney
“We are happy to announce the Made in America festival will continue at the heart of the Philadelphia, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for many years to come. After a candid and constructive discussion with the Mayor, we are confident any miscommunication is corrected, and we are proactively addressing any concerns. We are committed to bringing the best experience possible to Philadelphians and all music lovers as well as the continuing prosperity of the city.”
-Roc Nation COO, Desiree Perez
The Made in America Festival has been a part of Philadelphia’s social and cultural identity since the first production in 2012. Rapper, producer, mogul and Founder of Roc Nation, JAY-Z, created the festival to merge music and culture. The inaugural event on Labor Day weekend of 2012 attracted nearly 80,000 concert-goers and was a huge success for Roc Nation and for the City of Brotherly Love. The 2015 fest saw record-breaking numbers and sold-out crowds for both days, with nearly 140,000 tickets sold for the weekend. The multicultural festival has touted eclectic, world-wide superstar headliners like Beyoncé, The Weekend, Rihanna, Coldplay, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails, Drake, Pearl Jam and John Mayer, to name a few.
So, with such a success for both sides – how did we get here, anyway?
The Lead Up
Last week, the festival organizers – most prominently JAY-Z and Desiree Perez – learned that, without any prior discussions or negotiations, the city intended to move the event away from the historic Benjamin Franklin Parkway after the 2018 concert to another location inside the city. Roc Nation asserted that they had only learned of the plans to move the festival after news broke on the local site Billy Penn. While it’s still unclear why the city made the decision to announce the move – even though the mayor claims it’s just one big misunderstanding – it has been reported that the festival’s growing scale in the city center and overhead costs were reportedly to blame.
According to Perez, Roc Nation conceptualized the idea for the fest in the early ‘10s and approached the city with the collaboration to boost tourism and lift Philly’s economy. At the time, Philly’s Mayor Michael Nutter embraced the pitch and helped the Roc Nation team turn their dream into reality: “We went to the city and luckily Mayor Nutter was there … he’s a businessman and does what mayors are supposed to do: promote their cities. [Philly] definitely is a big piece of what Made in America is, that Benjamin Franklin Parkway.” Perez has since revealed that not only have the festival promoters never had any contact with Mayor Kenney since he took office in 2016, but that the festival and the city have butted heads since. The city reportedly asked Roc Nation for intended setlists before they were publicly released in 2016 – a practice that the fest has never promoted, as multi-million marketing campaigns and special deals rely on the secrecy and the exclusivity of the headliners. Perez describes this moment as “the welcome [they] got” to the new mayor, but said she wouldn’t let the city sway her decision: “I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ And they’re not getting it,” Perez later recalled to Complex. Perez also described a few questionable billing issues that showed pronounced spikes in Roc Nation’s tab for the event since the mayoral transition.
Days after the announcement, tensions continued to build with another statement from the city, this time from the Communications director, Sarah Reyes: “When the festival first started, it was intended to provide a unique attraction to the city on the otherwise quiet Labor Day weekend. Over the years, tourism has grown overall, and the need for an event of this scale at this location may no longer be necessary.” Reyes statement was another slap in the face to the production team that had put their heart and soul into the last six years of a city-wide festival that is widely credited with the city’s rise in tourism.
The Storm
It wasn’t long before social media caught on. The Roots’ Questlove criticized the city with Perez’ same sentiment of Philadelphia and Mayor Kenney being unhelpful, obtrusive and hard to work with during his production in Wawa Welcome America festival in years past. Questlove cut ties with the event – also held on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway – in 2016. While celebs and the city of Philadelphia chimed in, various exchanges started playing between the two sides throughout the media – Live Nation executive Omar Al-Joulani recounted that the city “broke up with us in the press,” and JAY-Z released a retaliatory letter to the mayor through the Philadelphia Inquirer.
JAY-Z’s statement was the final straw in the frenzy, articulating the fest’s ties to the city and his frustration with the mayor’s decision: “We are disappointed that the mayor of the city of Philadelphia would evict us from the heart of the city, through a media outlet, without a sit-down meeting, notice, dialogue, or proper communication. It signifies zero appreciation for what Made in America has built alongside the phenomenal citizens of this city,” Jay penned as he provided financial backup for his demand to keep the event in the parkway and recounted the millions donated over the years to Philadelphia’s philanthropic initiatives.
Jay went on to ask the mayor, “How does an administration merely discard an event that generates millions in income and employs the city’s people as if we are disposable now that we have served our purpose?” Jay made it clear he felt cast aside, illuminating the festival’s status as one of the few minority-owned productions of its kind while waxing on employment opportunities and philanthropic contributions from the fest over the years. Hova made the point that the city got one thing right – the first MIA festival in 2012 came at a time that the city desperately needed the attraction of a major festival, and that, by their own admission, the festival started on a “quiet Labor Day weekend,” but tourism has grown overall, eliminating the need for such a large-scale festival. Jay ends here, with a single question left for Mayor Kenney and the city to muse: how did that tourism grow? In leaving with the implication (backed by the numbers) that the Roc Nation / Live Nation MIA fest is a major part of the city’s identity, op-eds around the country took note, as did Philadelphia and its mayor.
Within hours, Mayor Kenney backtracked on prior statements, saying that he thought that the city’s position had been communicated to Jay’s team beforehand. “I love Jay-Z,” Kenney (now famously) declared at a news conference. “We love the concert and we want to keep it,” he said as he chalked the week’s contention up to an “unfortunate misunderstanding,” and added that the city was looking at alternative sites and was hoping for a quick resolution.
The Resolution
Fortunately for MIA, this wasn’t the first time at the negotiation table for Desiree Perez. Known for her sharp mediation skills as the COO of the Roc Nation empire, Perez took over for the fest, demanding that moving to a new location in Philly was not an option. After finally getting a meeting with the city (after the last 2 years with no communication), Perez told Variety that Mayor Kenney was actually refreshing and direct, while he doubled-down that the whole storm that played out through the media was all a misunderstanding. As for the concerns on behalf of the city, Perez said these were normal items that should be on the agenda and up for discussion: “The mayor had community concerns that are natural whenever you have huge events coming into a city. They wanted our commitment that we would address those concerns — and we want to address them and have the community be happy with us and our decisions. We want to be part of the community — we don’t wish to just come in for the festival, then leave. The mayor wants us there, and on the Parkway.”
After a joint meeting and compromise, Perez rejoiced in the outcome made to keep the festival in its original, intended location. “The weekend was tense, but we got things done and today was very good,” Perez said just a few hours after meeting with Mayor Kenney and several additional city government officials. “It’s a very positive outcome, with a bright future for Made in America at the Parkway in Philadelphia from 2019 on.” And as for Jay… Perez noted that the superstar was very happy at the outcome.
About Desiree Perez
The rock behind Roc Nation has been a quiet force guiding JAY-Z’s success for over the last two decades, leading the negotiations in Roc Nation’s biggest deals. Desiree Perez, along with Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown and Founder JAY-Z, landed on the Billboard Power 100 List this year, showcasing the “who’s who” of industry titans. Billboard named Roc Nation’s crowning achievement to be Jay’s album 4:44, and credited that success with Perez’ talents in their 2017 Women in Music issue highlighting the female executives running music industry empires. Proving again her aptitude in closing huge agreements, Perez signed Sprint in a $200 million investment with Roc Nation’s streaming service TIDAL announced in January 2017. Then, in June’s 4:44 release, Sprint sponsored a free download to 1 million people, taking the record platinum before it was even officially released – a sweeping, successful and strategic campaign that broke numerous records
Desiree Perez was also the boss behind the $150 million deal with Live Nation in 2008 that saw the departure of Jay from longtime record label Def Jam to the formation of Roc Nation, complete with recordings and tours set to last through the decade that followed – one of the biggest music contracts ever awarded. Jay and Perez rekindled the deal in 2017, signing a bigger, better, 10-year deal with the touring giant Live Nation to the tune of $200 million. The industry titan COO has also been at the helm for breakthrough touring deals for the likes of Rihanna and Jay-bae Beyoncé.
Not the only family player in the Roc Nation dynasty, Desiree’s husband OG Juan is also a piece in the puzzle behind the conglomerate as the President to Roc Nation Sports. Introduced to JAY-Z in the mid-90’s through mutual friend and Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Kareem “Biggs” Burke, OG Juan Perez helped run studios with Jay for decades before the materialization of Roc Nation. The friends have celebrated various business ventures throughout the years, including the openings of NYC sports bar The 40/40 Club in 2003 that has since branched into a national chain, and the formation of record label Roc-La-Familia in 2005.
Pairing the sports world with OG Juan and Jay’s acumen for business has always proved itself to be right in the sweet spot for victory. The success of The 40/40 Club has seen numerous openings around the country, and was the breeding grounds for the duo’s foray into the world of sports management. OG Juan that the idea for a sports offset in Roc Nation swirled for years – athletes coming into the club, hanging with Jay and the boys, talking shop – it was the natural next step, approaching athlete management the same way Roc Nation approaches artist management. The dream came to fruition in 2013 and the Roc Nation Sports crew has been stacking a steady lineup of all-stars ever since.
OG Juan and Desiree Perez (usually just dubbed “OG” and “Dez” in Jay’s tracks) have found themselves in a slew of Jay’s rhymes throughout the years, most recently in the JAY-Z and Beyoncé drop from their 2018 The Carters album EVERYTHING IS LOVE. In “Friends,” Jay and Bey celebrate their closest allies throughout the years, most notably the Hova Circle of Influence – the Roc Nation Presidents, Heads, Chiefs and Founders of the corporation and its many subsets – a crew that has been by the couple’s side for many, many years:
Beyoncé:
“I don’t know what I would do without all of my crew, yeah / I ain’t makin’ no room, yeah, I ain’t makin’ no new friends / I don’t make no moves, yeah, without tellin’ my crew, yeah / That’s just how we do, yeah, that’s just how we do! / … Closer than kin, I’m blessed.”
JAY-Z:
“Ty-Ty there, E there, Breezy there, Juan there / High here, Chaka there, Law there, they all here, ah yeah / Dez there, Kawanna here, shit feel like nirvana here!”
In the most literal anthem of friendship and adoration for Jay and Bey’s ride or dies, the Roc Nation crew makes the cut: Ty Smith – Roc Nation co-Founder; Emory Jones – childhood friend and Roc Nation Sports Exec; Jay “Breezy” Brown – CEO, Roc Nation; OG Juan Perez – President, Roc Nation Sports; Briant “Bee-High” Biggs – cousin and Roc Nation Exec; Chaka Pilgrim – Head of Film & TV, Shawn Carter Enterprises; Lawrence Parker – A&R Roc Nation Records; Desiree Perez – COO, Roc Nation; Kawana Brown – close friend and wife to Roc Nation CEO Jay Brown.
As close compadres to the Carters, OG Juan and Desiree Perez – even as low-profile as they choose to keep their careers and private lives – have found themselves at times at the center of Jay’s latest Page 6 shenanigans, most notably, the now-infamous $91,000 bar tab for OG Juan’s birthday this year. When the Roc Nation crew racked up the epic bar tab, celebrity news took note – Jay was splashed across headlines declaring the mogul to be balling out for OG, but it wasn’t until the summer track Top Off that JAY-Z finally set the record straight: “$91,000 for a wine bill / Keep it real with you, that was Juan’s bill.” In a single line, Jay communicates one of his most prevalent themes: he didn’t have to pick up the tab, because his friends – his Roc Nation family – they’re all up at the top, too. “We measure success by how many people successful next to you / Here we say you broke if everybody else broke except for you.” – “Boss,” EVERYTHING IS LOVE
