Dish Nation (FOX syndicated TV) | "Producer Calls Dr. Luke A Monster, Urges Sony To Part Ways" | April 4, 2016
“I think it’s a tragedy that Sony Music has remained firm and stood behind Dr. Luke throughout this whole Kesha ordeal,” Jonathan exclusively told Dish Nation. “In my opinion, they should have parted ways with him a long time ago when they found out about his abuse on Kesha. He’s a monst
er.”
Rolling Stone Magazine | "Inside Kesha's Fight" | March 24, 2016 (Issue 1257)
"Either way, one publicist and crisis-management expert. Jonathan Hay argues that Dr. Luke's career could potentially be 'done'. 'The whole situation is just bad business,' says Hay, who has worked with Sony. 'When you're against Adele, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, it's like, you're done. I would hate to be his publicist - I wouldn't take him. The Washington Post | "Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and the new ‘it’ PR strategy: Surprise!" | March 5, 2016
“It’s about taking advantage of that impulse — impulse buying, impulse listening,” says Jonathan Hay, a veteran producer and publicist in Los Angeles. “The next day is going to be a different trending story. So we want to be ahead of that new thing.” But, he adds, “that’s what scares me now. How long is new? Six, seven hours?”
CBS Sports | "Louisville Cardinals’ Damion Lee Plays Last Game; Ponders Rap Career" | March 7, 2016
“Producer Jonathan Hay, who produced Johnny College, a song performed by Chaz Ultra, Kxng Crooked & Greyson and Jasun off the The Urban Hitchcock LP. “To see Louisville get tarnished by a s*x scandal is so disgusting and it breaks my heart, and that’s what inspired Johnny College. Louisville just got destroyed by Virginia — Louisville is a team that could go to the Final Four or lose in the first or second round. Whereas next year’s team could go all the way with what we have coming out. So what they did was not for jeopardize next year’s champion contender and recruiting class for this team. Damion Lee and Trey Lewis got screwed by the politics of college basketball business. It’s sad.”
How Stuff Works | "Celebrity W**d Endorsements: The Next Designer Perfume?" | December 8, 2015
"Publicist and music producer Jonathan Hay says savvy celebrities should get in the game now before pitching w**d becomes as common as shooting a soda commercial. "Artists need to jump on quick because three or four years from now, it's gonna be no big deal," says Hay. He's worked with a wide range of music talent, including Prince, Whitney Houston, Ice Cube and Method Man. "If I were a major artist, I would jump on it and cash in, because soon everyone's gonna be doing it." The ma*****na industry should be attractive to musicians in particular, Hay says, who can't necessarily rely on just making and performing tunes to bring home the bacon. The dawn of the digital streaming age has meant declining revenue for the music business. It's also helped nudge artists into using their videos and Instagram accounts as branding and product placement platforms. W**d is perfect for those kinds of marketing moves, Hay says, because it still has some edginess — or what Hay called "a cool factor" — to it, thanks to the drug's uncertain legal status. Hay is certainly no stranger to controversy. He recently found himself in the entertainment tabloids after admitting to helping float a rumor that Jay-Z had stepped out on Beyoncé with a then-17-year-old Rihanna in order to try to create some buzz for her first single in 2005. More recent talk about that pop star rolling out her own g***a line have since gone up in smoke. Inside Edition | "Publicist: I Made Up Rumor That Rihanna Had Affair With Jay-Z to Boost Her Single" | October 23, 2015
It was the rumor that would not go away -- Rihanna was romancing Jay Z behind Beyoncé’s back. Jonathan Hay is a music industry publicist who says he made up the whole affair to get attention for Rihanna’s first single, "Pon De Reply," back in 2005. He told INSIDE EDITION’s Les Trent that “it was all a publicity stunt" and they did not have an affair. Hay makes that shocking revelation in the new book, Becoming Beyoncé, an unauthorized biography by bestselling author J. Randy Taraborelli. "I was desperate at the time because I wanted to have a hit record,” Hay said. The rumor caught fire at the time and Jay Z and Beyoncé, who were dating back then, broke up for a year because the “Single Ladies” singer wanted no part of a love triangle involving Rihanna, the book claims. Hay says he regrets ever generating that false rumor of the so-called Jay Z and Rihanna affair. Trent asked him: “What would you say to Beyoncé and Rihanna?” “I'd say I’m sorry,” he replied. The Source Magazine | ONE SHOT and SMH Records join T.I. and DJ Drama in the ATL | January 21, 2015
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime for so many aspiring artists, to be able to come out and show off their skills in front people like RZA and T.I., I’m sure all the contestants are going to be on their A game.”Jonathan Hay, a One Shot mentor and producer agrees: “What I saw in Charlotte blew me away. I really hope the other cities can compete with what I witnessed in North Carolina. I hope every city brings it that way. People were camped out overnight, slept in their cars and waited hours and hours to audition.”
Billboard Magazine | "Jay Z, Beyonce and the Rumor Mill: Who's Pulling the Strings?" | August 16, 2014 (Volume 126, Issue 26)
"Celebrity publicist Jonathan Hay -- who's worked with clients from Sony to Wiz Khalifa and provides PR crisis management -- spoke to Billboard in a separate interview and speculated this entire affair is just carefully orchestrated tour promotion. "Always consider the timing in these situations," Hay says. "That staged elevator fight hit the news immediately before the release of their On The Run tour trailer video. The fight gives regular news stations -- beyond just entertainment news -- a headline, which broadens their audience. They're also going to bring up the On The Run tour and ask questions like, 'Will their be drama on the road?' and, 'Is this going to be the final performances of Jay Z and Beyonce?' They created a compelling spectacle, which ultimately creates a demand." Hay, incidentally, knows a thing or two about creating a compelling spectacle. He openly takes credit for planting those false Jay Z/Rihanna romance rumors back in 2005 to promote her debut single "Pon de Replay." Obviously, that stunt worked a little." HipHopDX | "WIDEawake Death Row Records Reportedly Being Sold In Wake Of Parent Company's Bankruptcy" | December 5, 2012
"Death Row publicist Jonathan Hay, New Solutions Financial Corp., a Canadian company that owns WIDEawake Death Row, has gone bankrupt and is selling both the label and catalog to a publicly held company. The deal is set to be closed on December 10th. Hay explains that the label tried to release remastered and remixed versions of albums from the catalog over the past four years but were not satisfied with the end results. He said that many of their ideas were shot down and was unhappy with the decisions of the staff at WIDEawake Death Row "across the board," blaming it on "inexperience."
