The NFL pays performers the union ladder rate for the Super Bowl halftime show, but it’s an incredible promotional opportunity for artists to increase online streams, album sales, and appearance fees. The NFL covers all production costs, which can exceed $10 million. The halftime show is the biggest promotional vehicle for a music star on the planet, with past performers seeing significant spikes in music streams and album sales. There has been discussion about performers paying the NFL for the opportunity, but it has not happened yet.
There are many reasons why the world’s most popular entertainers clamor to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show every year, but a generous attendance fee isn’t one of them.
In fact, the National Football League pays these superstars nothing more than the union ladder rate to perform at halftime. Artists like Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Mars, Paul McCartney and Beyonce gladly sing and dance for the game’s 100 million viewers because it’s an incredible promotional opportunity that can translate into more online streams, higher album sales and more lucrative appearance fees .
The NFL covers all production costs for the 12- to 15-minute shows, which can get quite expensive. That’s surpassed $10 million dollars in recent years, when you add up to complex staging, over-the-top lighting setups, and jazzy pyrotechnic displays.
The best concert on Earth?
“Even the biggest names need to continually promote themselves,” explains Marc Ganis, president of consultancy firm Sportscorp. The Super Bowl halftime show is the biggest promotional vehicle for a music star on the planet.
For example: In the hour following Super Bowl LII in 2018, Justin Timberlake saw a 214% spike in Spotify streams of his music. Lady Gaga watched her album ‘Joanne’ climb 60 spots to No. 2 on the Billboard chart after her 2017 show. And Maroon 5 increased their average tour fee per city to $1.7 million after their 2019 Super Bowl performance.
There’s even been some discussion in recent years about whether performers should actually pay the NFL for the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl, but that’s never happened yet.
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