Clay Aiken is official gay outing in the October 6 issue of PEOPLE Magazine is big news this week, but that hasn’t translated into a big payday for the former American Idol finalist. Squealing spies claim Clay received $500,000 for publicly revealing his sexual identity and forking over first rights to photographs of his newborn son, Parker, on the pages of the celebrity weekly.

A pretty modest sum considering PEOPLE is the same magazine that ponied up approximately $14 million for the first photographs of the Jolie-Pitt twins. But insiders say a lack of interest in Clay may not be to blame for the small payout; apparently, everyday Americans aren’t the only ones feeling the crushing weight of our crumbling economy.

“Gone are the days when any celebrity gets millions of dollars for their photos,” one unidentifed magazine editor gossiped to MSNBC. “Economically, it doesn’t make sense….”