I thought this was a commonly known fact?!?! Apparently it’s not because some fans are shocked to learn what Bruno Mars got paid for his Super Bowl halftime performance. Bruno’s performance last night was outstanding! I absolutely loved it and most fans agreed that he did an amazing job. So how much did he get paid for the gig?! Nothing, zip, zero, nada. Shocked?! Don’t be. Artists never have and never will be paid. BUT the exposure from it is priceless. Hit the jump for details…
Via BusinessInsider:
“We just got that phone call and they started scoping me out,” 28-year-old “Grenade” singer Mars told Forbes of how he got the coveted gig. “They were coming to my shows and they popped the question. It’s one of those things where I feel like it’s early on in my career, but … it’s definitely something on a bucket list. It’s the biggest stage ever. It’s something you’re not gonna say no to.”
It’s not something a musician says no to, despite not getting paid. “We do not pay,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told Forbes last year. “We cover all expenses associated with the performance.”
The accompanying expenses, however, can add up. Travel, lodging, setup, fees for backup dancers and musicians, pyrotechnics, glam squads, etc., can all balloon to millions of dollars.
But Mars’ big payment will come in the form of exposure. “He’ll be playing what amounts to a 12-minute commercial for himself, which should boost sales for concert tickets, albums and merchandise,” reports Forbes, who confirmed Mars, like his predecessors, will not be paid for this year’s Super Bowl. “For context, a 30-second ad costs about $4 million this year.”
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Via Time:
“We’re putting someone up there for 12 and a half minutes in front of the largest audience that any television program garners in the United States,” NFL Director of Programming Lawrence Randall, told TIME last year. “It’s a pretty good deal. It’s the famous win-win for both parties.”
…The huge exposure regularly leads to a big sales boost for artists. Album sales for Beyonce and Destiny’s Child jumped 40 percent the week after last year’s Super Bowl. The bump has been even more pronounced for older bands like the Who, whose Greatest Hits album more than doubled in sales after their halftime show in 2010.
