Here’s Why It’s Worth It to Play the Super Bowl Halftime Show

February 2, 2015 Alan Cross 1 Comment

Katy Perry and her people did NOT get paid for the halftime performance at Super Bowl XLIX. The NFL knows that this 12 1/2 minutes is among the most valuable airtime in the world and that being offered the opportunity to perform is payment enough.

And they’re right.

The Katy Perry-led performance was seen by 118.5 million people, an all-time Super Bowl record. Compare that to the 120.3 million that tuned in for the final ten minutes of the game. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of sales boost she sees. Guesses are that she’ll see things go up about 75%.

But wait. Missy Elliott is glad that she agreed to show up. The few minutes she spent getting her freak on again resulted in a 1,000% bump in digital sales.

How long will it be before the NFL starts charging artists to perform at the Super Bowl?

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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