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NFL Taking Heat for Pay-for-Play Super Bowl Halftime Plan

Aug 21, 2014  •  Post A Comment

The NFL is under fire for asking potential performers for its Super Bowl halftime show to kick back a share of their earnings to the league. B&C reports that the American Federation of Musicians has added its voice to the chorus of complaints.

The report quotes AFM International President Ray Hair saying:“It’s not like the NFL and its Super Bowl organizers don’t have any money and can’t afford to pay for halftime show performances; it’s about the insatiable thirst for profits at the expense of great musical entertainment and those who create it. You can find kickback schemes like this coming from unscrupulous bar and nightclub owners, but for the NFL to descend to such depths would be unconscionable.”

The article adds: “The league has reportedly narrowed down its list of potential acts to Rihanna, Katy Perry and Coldplay, asking for a portion of post-show tour earnings to secure the booking.”

The AFM noted that the halftime artists are not paid for their appearances, while the Super Bowl receives huge revenues from advertising during the game and has an annual revenue topping $9 billion.

The report adds: “The AFM said it would bring the matter up for discussion with the AFL-CIO’s Department of Professional Employees, which includes representatives from all U.S. art and entertainment unions, including the NFL Players Association.”

rihanna-2014

Rihanna

3 Comments

  1. The greed here of the NFL owners is disgusting, and shows how fake these owners are when they talk about good character. All professional musicians and musical groups of any notoriety should completely boycott the NFL including the half time show. Let’s see the greedy owners spin that…

  2. As I recall, Super Bowl and the Halftime Show began as a CELEBRATION & Culmination of the great games and plays within them over the season.

    Apparently CELEBRATION has been replaced with GREEDINATION.

    Too bad for everyone.
    Peter Bright

  3. NFL is taking heat for pay to play? Ya think??? You want to do some songs in our new billion dollar stadium? Ok, but it’s going to cost you… Never mind that these artists can get 6 figures for a performance but play halftime for free….

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