Winter Party Festival dramas were escalated last week as Noize Magazine, formerly known as “Circuit Noize Magazine”, sent a message to thousands of recipients via an associated social networking Twitter site stating that the public should boycott JustCircuit and DJ Peter Rauhofer because they are “stealing from HIV patients” and suggested “Fraud; Lies; Deceit”.
Noize advertising representatives just last week approached Rauhofer for an advertisement for his “Work” event, which directly competes with Winter Party’s sanctioned Sunday night event featuring DJ Boris. A spokesperson for Star69 Records in New York states that the Noize team also demanded “an apology” from Rauhofer for not advertising with them. Rauhofer refused their demands and did not place any ad for their upcoming issue. Last year’s Noize magazine during Winter Party Festival featured the Rauhofer Work event, which also competed with the sanctioned 2009 Winter Party Sunday night event.
"circuitparty" and "noizemag" Twitter accounts
listed in Noize Magazine's recent print issue (#62 Winter Edition)
Rauhofer’s “Work” event, scheduled for Sunday, March 7, has been under attack by the Task Force, which presents Winter Party Festival in South Florida, in an expanded effort from the Task Force seeking help from cross promotional partners and area community organization to publicly humiliate the DJ ad the venues involved. Rauhofer holds exclusivity for several years on the venues originally sought by the organization for its own use. The Opium Group owns Mansion and Cameo (formerly Crobar Miami) nightclubs and has refused to work with Winter Party organizers.
The organized effort got ugly last week as partners of the Winter Party Festival were asked to interject on behalf of the Task Force by sending out letters signed by a group of Winter Party “partners”. Miami Herald GLBT events reporter Steve Rothaus has picked up the Task Force’s message in his Miami Herald online column and a “StopPeter.com” website has been created by an anonymous source featuring his work. Anonymous posts are seen throughout the online article, including several aimed at JustCircuit. Pickets are reportedly being organized against the Rauhofer event.
Noize Magazine’s attacks on JustCircuit is nothing new. Whisper campaigns against JustCircuit began shortly after JustCircuit debuted its own magazine JustCircuit.mag in 2007. JustCircuit publishes every two months and has quickly grown to be one of the most respected magazines in the GLBT community with its features on music, fashion, travel and events, including maps and schedules of larger event weekends. The JustCircuit application for iPhone and online placement on the JustCircuit.com website has expanded its reach around the world very quickly. It is unclear how often Noize publishes, as some of its issues are online only. Noize editor Steven Ceplinsky recently accused JustCircuit of “anti-Semitism” in public statements on Facebook and other media. Ceplinsky and his partner Gary Steinberg, the magazine’s publisher, have contacted advertisers of JustCircuit in attempts to discredit and prevent competition with their own product, including as recently as last week. Noize partner Tony Hayden, aka TheCircuitDog.com, whose physical threats against JustCircuit administration caused formal criminal charges to be filed against him and and a subsequent FBI probe, has often taken the Noize initiative to make false and defaming claims against a variety of individuals, using unlawful violation of Trademark and Copyright law along the way.
Noize Magazine was most recently media partners with promoter Mark Baker and World Vibe Orlando events during Memorial Day weekend as well as enVibe Orlando events during Gay Day weekend in 2009. World Vibe events were eventually cancelled entirely and all tickets refunded. An email from Noize to One Mighty Weekend promoter Johnny Chisholm, seeking paid advertising for his events, was recently made public. The email refers to his failure to accept advertising offers from Noize as his situation being reminiscent to “the Emperor Has No Clothes” fable. Chisholm refused to advertise.
“JustCircuit has officially and consistently maintained a neutral position in the Rauhofer/Winter Party Festival feud,” states Shane Rogers, Executive Editor of JustCircuit.com and JustCircuit.MAG. “Peter is a long time friend and current advertiser. We have worked with the Task Force for over a decade and were disappointed that they chose to accept an “exclusive” agreement with Noize Magazine this year to promote their events. We recently sent the Task Force a letter to advise them that we would not be producing the Five Ring Circuit event this year as our goals are consistent that we would not go against a sanctioned event of any kind, including theirs. We put so much hard work into last year’s weekend, which included free advertising in our magazine and over ten thousand dollars of our own money to produce their Friday night Five Ring Circuit event. We gave a promotional agreement worth well over $50,000 for the entire year and well beyond their event weekend, as we have in the past. We were not even given the courtesy of an explanation.”
“The latest attempts by Noize Magazine and their staff to defame us have created a very uncomfortable situation,” Rogers continues. “We do not accept their libel and suggestions that JustCircuit “steals from HIV patients” nor their other suggestions that we are ‘frauds’. It is very clear to everyone what we do with each and every event we sponsor, produce or attend. Our goals to build the parties and organizations have expanded in ways Noize has only dreamed of doing, including the applications for iPhone, live webcasts from events, a bi-monthly publication offering affordable advertising and superior content and even producing events for weekends who want to try something new. In fact, I’m not sure if they have ever produced anything other than their magazine.”
“Their current libelous route against JustCircuit and against Rauhofer is NOT the proper way to promote Winter Party Festival weekend. The drama drives even more people away from the party weekend, splits the community and will cause the event to suffer tremendously in the long run. We feel very sad for everyone who has loved Winter Party all these years as they watch the drama unfold. We are certainly part of that group of disappointed supporters at JustCircuit.”
