Fuck You, Pay Me
By 
Rolling Stone has decided that paying writers is all old-timey. No, no, no, the real model is you pay them!
Rolling Stone magazine is offering “thought leaders” the chance to write for its website if they are willing to pay $2,000 to “shape the future of culture”.
The storied magazine, which has published journalism by writers including Hunter S Thompson, Patti Smith and Tom Wolfe, approached would-be members of its new “Culture Council” by email, telling them that they had the chance to join “an invitation-only community for innovators, influencers and tastemakers”.
Emails seen by the Guardian suggest that those who pass a vetting process – and pay a $1,500 annual fee plus $500 up front – will “have the opportunity to publish original content to the Rolling Stone website”. It suggests that doing so “allows members to position themselves as thought leaders and share their expertise”.
Folks, we here at LGM have an opportunity of a lifetime for you. For the low, low price of $1,000 a post, you are welcome to publish here. As the world’s premier site for thought leaders who get to shape the culture, the LGM Culture Council wants to change your life. Look at vodka and ketchup sales have plummeted over the last ten years since I started writing here! This could be you!
And to say the least, all payments are due up front. Please, we aren’t suckers.