Rihanna was not paid to perform in the Super Bowl halftime show, but she still got a big money boost as her song sales went up 390% following the show.
Key Details
- More people watched Rihanna, with an average of 118.7 million people seeing her half-time performance, compared to the average of 112.3 million who viewed the game.
- It was the second most-watched half-time show of all time—falling behind Katy Perry’s 121 million viewers in 2015.
- Following the show, Rihanna’s music experienced a 211% increase in on-demand streams and a 390% increase in digital song sales overall, according to data from Luminate.
- Her makeup line Fenty Beauty and her lingerie line Savage x Fenty also earned significant boosts following the show—making $5.6 million and $2.6 million, respectively.
Why it’s news
Super Bowl performers aren’t paid to take on the halftime show, but thanks to a large number of viewers and the marketing buzz surrounding the performance, many artists find massive album sales boosts and boosts on streaming platforms following their performance.
The power of the exposure from the show proved true once again this year as performer Rihanna experienced a 211% increase in on-demand streams and a 390% increase in digital song sales overall immediately following her halftime performance.
Her hit song “Pour It Up” (2012), which she performed, received the largest boost following the show, up 1,387% in digital song sales and 470% in on-demand audio streams, according to Forbes.
“Where Have You Been” (2011) also skyrocketed following the show, with a 1,272% boost in digital song sales and a 459% jump in on-demand audio streams.
A look at previous halftime numbers
The Super Bowl halftime show is a performance that many look forward to all year long. The show has been headlined by some of the world’s biggest artists, including Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, and Prince.
It is a massive performance for both the performing artist and the music industry, as numbers tend to soar for the artist following the performance. After the show, artists tend to see a significant boost in both streaming and album sales.
Some of the largest streaming boosts include Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, who headlined the show in 2020. The pair saw streaming gains of 267% and 187% in the week following their performance, according to Billboard.
The Weeknd, who was already a top streamer, saw a jump in streaming numbers following his 2021 performance. He saw a 65% streaming jump from 82 million streams to 136 million streams in the week following his performance.
Artists also see a large sales jump following the halftime show. Lady Gaga’s song and album sales were up 1000% on Super Bowl Sunday alone following her 2017 performance, Billboard reported.
Coldplay’s music sales rose 355% the week after their 2016 performance selling 95,000 albums. After Beyonce’s 2013 performance, her album sales jumped 62%, and her song “Crazy In Love” saw a 203% sales boost, according to Billboard.
