Entertainment & Football

Apple Music Pays NFL $50M As Sponsor For Super Bowl Halftime Show, Usher Performs Free

Usher performs for free even with the supposed huge amount of money NFL is making from the Super Bowl performance. This is one thing many don’t know about the Super Bowl half time show, artists use it as a medium to explore.

Here’s how it works;

Some of the world’s most famous artists have performed at the Super Bowl halftime show, the likes of Michael Jackson, Dr. Dre, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake and Rihanna to name a few, none of these artists were paid.

Usher thrilling the audience with an electrifying performance (in Michael Jackson’s one hand glove style)

Talking about this year’s performance by Usher, he’s leveraging on the exposure to gain more followers, sell tickets, and increase streaming numbers as he plans a world tour and an album release.

This is how the financials works, NFL signs a $50M sponsorship deal and artists get a $15 million production budget

This budget covers 2,000 to 3,000 part-time workers, including set design, security, dancers, and marketing but artists don’t get any of the money, most times some artists end up spending millions of dollars of their own money on the performance. One example of such is, Dr. Dre who reportedly spent millions of dollars in 2022.

The exposure they get from this is the capital because Super Bowl is watched by 115 million people. Brands reportedly spent $7 million for 30-second commercials during this year’s game, during which Usher receives an uninterrupted 13-minute commercial for free which more valuable than his performance fee.

According to data which statistically showed that Justin Timberlake saw a 534% increase in music sales after Super Bowl 52. Travis Scott’s performance fee doubled from $500,000 to $1 million after Super Bowl 53. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira gained 3 million Instagram followers after Super Bowl 54.

Rihanna’s numbers were mind-blowing too; No. 1 most-streamed artist globally. 17 songs in the Top 40 on Spotify, gained 3 million Instagram followers and her Fenty Beauty searches were up 833%.
Rihanna’s performance had more viewers (118 million) than the NFL game (115 million) averaged.

Breaking Rihanna’s record in 2024, Usher’s performance becomes the most watched Apple Music Halftime (Super Bowl Show) ever with highest audience of 202.4 Million viewers.

So it’s no surprise Usher has a few tricks up his sleeve, like what he did with Alicia Keys, grabbing her from behind that has sparked reactions after the show for days now..

The controversial grab from behind, what Usher unexpectedly did to Alicia Keys

He also signed several endorsement deals and will even be in a commercial. Usher’s target is promoting his upcoming tour.

The connection and chemistry of performance was a touch of two professional super stars

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