Superbowl Effect: The Rihanna Numbers and Nuggets for Ghanaian Artistes
Last Sunday night, the world witnessed one of the most-anticipated Superbowl Halftime shows in recent years for many reasons. Though the title sponsor change from Pepsi to Apple Music for the first time since 2013 was significant, it was the historic return of Rihanna to live performance that took the centre-stage. Off course her return couldn’t have been better than hitting the Superbowl Halftime stage — one of the biggest stages in the world of sports and entertainment.
Following her performance, it was widely reported that the multiple Grammy winner is pregnant, another layer that got many people surprised and excited.
But there are some lessons to be picked up about the Super Bowl halftime show for Ghana’s music space especially curating value for musicians and event organizers.
For starters, the Superbowl Halftime show is probably the most valuable 12 minutes of media in the world. It is watched by 200 million people worldwide with brands spending $7 million for 30-second commercials for last Sunday’s game,
Apple Music reportedly paid the NFL $250 million for a 5-year title sponsorship deal for the Superbowl Halftime show. But here’s the craziest part: Rihanna won’t be paid a dime for this year’s show. Interestingly, headline performers even use their own money — millions of dollars on some production costs.
According to multiple media reports including Forbes magazine, A-list performers including Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Lady Gaga among others do perform at the halftime show for free but based on numbers and statistics, the show offers performers huge benefits from the exposure to a massive audience. Call it the halftime show effect: When Lady Gaga took the stage in 2017, her album and song sales, for example, increased 1000%, Billboard reported, and Jennifer Lopez gained 2.3 million new followers across social media after she and Shakira headlined in 2020.
Breaking the numbers down, Joseph Pompliano, Founder of Huddle Up, a new media platform that breaks down the business and money behind sports indicated how the halftime show financials work: “NFL signs a $50M sponsorship deal. Artists get a $10M to $15M 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. “In fact, some artists end up spending millions of dollars of their own money on the performance. For example, The Weekend spent $7million of personal cash on his show at Super Bowl 55, and Dr. Dre reportedly spent a similar amount last year (2022). So why do they do it? Exposure,” Pompliano added.