More than 115 million peopleĀ tuned in to watch Bruno MarsĀ perform atĀ this year's Super Bowl halftime show ā the largestĀ audience toĀ view the mid-game spectacle in history. The show is a big boost both for the performers' publicity and pocket book, and now the NFL wants them to pay up for using that spotlight.
That's right, the NFL wants artists toĀ "Pay To Play," asĀ The Wall Street JournalĀ puts it. Sources told the Journal the league asked its field of potential halftimeĀ show actsĀ "if they would be willing to contribute a portion of their post-Super Bowl tour income to the league ... or if they would makeĀ some other type of financial contribution."
The mostĀ likelyĀ candidates to take the stage at this year's halftime show include: Rihanna, Katy Perry andĀ Coldplay, and, well,Ā sorry,Ā Weird Al fans. No love just yetĀ despiteĀ the ever-growing petition.
This would markĀ the first time the NFL has asked performers to fork over payment to grab the coveted mid-game spotlight, something performersĀ historically have not been paid for ā and haven't had to pay the NFL for.
Obviously, artists' repsĀ have not beenĀ very receptive to the idea.Ā With theĀ Super Bowl halftimeĀ gig comes massive exposure and more money.
Bruno Mars' album salesĀ exploded up the chartsĀ within a day following his performance.
His second album,Ā "Unorthodox Jukebox,"Ā jumped from number 18 to seven on the Billboard Top 200, a 180 percent boost.
And Bruno's debutĀ album,Ā "Doo-Wops & Hooligans,"Ā fared even better, racing from number 82 to 19 on the chart, a 303 percent spike.
And that wasn't just the case for Bruno Mars. In 2013, Beyonce didn't even have a new album out, but her most recent album, 2011'sĀ "4,"Ā broke into the top 100Ā and moved 10,000 units in the two weeks following her performance. (Video viaĀ Columbia Records / Beyonce 'Love On Top')
And the halftime spotlight has a positive effect on more than just record sales.
A Forbes writer says theĀ social media sphere gets a similar boost. Bruno Mars added 150 Twitter follows in the week after his showing. And Beyonce had well over a million Facebook users posting about her after her gig.
The Super Bowl XLIXĀ halftime show is set for Feb. 1 in Phoenix, Arizona. From what we understand, there will also be a football game played as well.
This video contains images fromĀ Getty Images.
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