Deus ex machina: Homme+

Bouncing off a very bad year, Britney is back in the studio recording new songs for a special summer edition of her Blackout album and a world tour slated for the end of the year.

When it comes to taking that perfect picture: “Speed is everything.”

On average paparazzi earn $7,000 a month. Some of the top paparazzi raked in up to $100,000 last year alone. Solely from profits made off Britney Spears.

When paparrazi stake out a star as big as Britney Spears, the atmosphere is often one of companionship. There’s a lot of friendly banter. But the second Britney makes her appearance, gets into her car and speeds off, she starts a frenzied chase scene where it’s every paparazzi for himself. Competitive juices run high and information is only traded within agencies.

The specter of former Princess Diana’s tragic death in a Parisian tunnel, hounded as she was by paparazzi, still loom in 2008. The paparazzi chases are downright dangerous, putting not only the lives of the people directly involved at stake but also innocent by-standers.

Paparazzi are no longer undercover agents, sneaking around the bushes to capture that one candid shot of celebrity stars. Today, they are out and center, in the faces of celebrities, clicker-happy as broad as daylight. The climate and rules have changed, and no one has been a greater catalyst of this than Britney Spears and her public meltdown. From her shaved head to the umbrella-in-the-car-window incident, from her pantyless crotch photo to her trip to the mental hospital strapped down in a gurney, everything has been publicly and remorselessly documented in photos.

At the height of the media storm, a Britney picture could fetch 10x the amount fetched from an exclusive Brad and Angelina picture. It was not uncommon for a Britney picture to rake in 10 grand — and that’s just one picture. An exclusive and terminally rare picture commands a price in the high-end 6 figures. And tabloids are willing to pay because a front-cover exclusive picture will not only drive sales but also create multiple reprints and more profit.

Britney has set an all-time low bar when it comes to scandals. She makes Madonna look cute in the scandal department. A full decade and a half ago Madonna was traipsing down LA in the nude, hailing a cab, and only in heels. But everyone knew Madonna was in full control of her image and her career, manufacturing every single scandal to her benefit. That’s compared to the random and career-suicidal acts of scandal committed by starlets today.

I’m marvelling at how things have changed. How the media has changed. How information dissemination has changed. It’s an ever-mutating world with ever-new possibilities. Whether predator or prey, it’s a world for the brave. And I’m no longer talking about the music industry.