Sam Amico
For the past decade, Pepsi has won the Super Bowl. Not the actual game, but the intermission.
Videos by Rare
That’s because has been the company in charge of the Super Bowl Halftime Show. But those days are over.
Instead, Apple Music is picking up the beat, and taking over, the company announced.
“Music and sports hold a special place in our hearts, so we’re very excited Apple Music will be part of music and football’s biggest stage,” Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser said in a statement.
Terms of the deal weren’t revealed, though reports suggest the NFL is getting $50 million a year.
So what’s it all mean? Well, probably not a whole lot — other than it opens the door for other big-name artists to get an opportunity.
Apple Music to Sponsor Super Bowl Halftime Show
For instance, Apple Music has exclusive rights to music from Universal and Warner Music, so some of the artists there previously could not do halftime. Madonna, Adele, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay are among the popular names among them.
Along with that, some artists actually had exclusive deals with Coke — keeping them from doing a show run by Pepsi. Taylor Swift is perhaps the biggest, and word is, she could be your next headlining Super Bowl halftime act.
“We are proud to welcome Apple Music to the NFL family as our new partner for the iconic Super Bowl Halftime Show,” Nana-Yaw Asamoah, the NFL’s senior vice president of partner strategy, said in a statement. “We couldn’t think of a more appropriate partner for the world’s most-watched musical performance than Apple Music, a service that entertains, inspires, and motivates millions of people around the world through the intersection of music and technology.”
Last season, more than 120 million viewers took in the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which featured Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar. The Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the actual game.
