The Weeknd spent $7M of his own money and wasn't paid by the NFL for last night's halftime show at the Super Bowl.

The craziest part?

It was an investment.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇

1) First, some history.

From Jennifer Lopez and Katy Perry to Justin Timberlake and Lady Gaga, the most famous halftime performers in history haven't been paid to perform at the Super Bowl.

Instead, they are rewarded with exposure.

2) With 100M+ people watching the Super Bowl worldwide, the NFL recruits performers by promising media exposure.

Here's an example:

After the 2020 Super Bowl, Jennifer Lopez & Shakira gained 3M followers on social media & saw their song downloads increase 900%.

3) As for The Weeknd, check this out:

This morning, less than 12 hours after the Super Bowl ended, his music already represented 8 out of the top 10 trending songs on Spotify.

Simply put, that's what one of the greatest promotional events in the world will do for you.

4) While the increased streaming exposure & social following is great, The Weeknd will see most of his financial benefit on future tours.

Data from ticketing platforms like Stubhub tells us that concert ticket searches usually jump 50% for halftime acts following the Super Bowl.