Thomas: America may be on a path toward a national divorce. We are not there yet. It could be a generation away, or it could be much sooner. One sign along that path is that the one event that used to bring us together, the thing we all watched at the same time, is no longer shared.
The Super Bowl halftime show used to be a monocultural moment. Everyone watched and talked about it the next day. That era may be ending. With the success of the Turning Point alternative halftime show, I would be surprised if we do not see multiple competing halftime productions next year. Corporations and organizations will believe they can produce something better for their specific audience.
There is no longer a single cultural moment where everyone tunes in to watch Michael Jackson stand silently on stage and captivate the entire country. We are entering a fractured zeitgeist. That fragmentation shows up in literature, music, and sports.
Jonathan: Super Bowl commercials may soon be AI-generated because companies will shift their budgets into producing their own halftime shows. The halftime show becomes the new commercial. Instead of waiting for the Taco Bell ad, you wait for the Taco Bell halftime event.
Here is what happened. The NFL’s official halftime show featured Puerto Rican reggae star Bad Bunny. He performed primarily in Spanish and opened with dancers cutting sugar cane, referencing Puerto Rico’s colonial history. He ended with “God bless America,” followed by a list of countries that are not the United States.
Thomas: The message was that all of these nations are part of the Americas, so the word “America” does not belong exclusively to the United States.
Jonathan: That perspective is common in Latin America. I lived in Mexico for nearly nine years as a teenager. Many people there would say, “We are all Americans.” From their viewpoint, North America and South America are both America.
Thomas: It is a political distinction. Citizens of the United States of Mexico may see themselves as Americans in a continental sense. Citizens of the United States typically use “American” to describe nationality. The word itself becomes a point of debate.
Jonathan: Turning Point USA hosted its own alternative halftime show. Samba TV tracked 48.6 million U.S. households watching the Super Bowl. That figure was down 13% from last year’s 55.9 million in their tracked sample.
Of those 48.6 million households, only 26.5 million stayed for Bad Bunny’s halftime show. That is down 39% from the previous year. That means 22 million households turned off or switched away during halftime.
Those are households, not individuals. Each household could represent several viewers. That is not a minor fluctuation. It reflects a trend we have seen developing over several years.
Where did they go? Approximately 6 million households tuned into the Turning Point USA halftime show on YouTube at its peak.
Thomas: That 6 million figure reflects YouTube alone. The alternative show was also streamed on platforms such as Rumble and Daily Wire. So that is not the total audience.
Jonathan: Correct. We are working with incomplete data, but the shift is still significant.
Thomas: We are not using Nielsen ratings because Nielsen recently changed its tracking methodology. That makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. Samba’s data, based on actual smart TV content recognition across roughly 50 million devices, provides a more consistent comparison.
If you have ever wondered why your smart TV was inexpensive, this is part of the reason. Viewing data is valuable. Advertisers want to know how many people switched away from one show to another. That affects ad pricing and revenue.
Jonathan: Some Gen Z viewers may wonder why this matters. When I was younger, the Super Bowl was not just a game. Even people who did not care about football watched it for the commercials. The next day at school or church, everyone discussed the funniest ad. It was a shared cultural moment.
Thomas: My Boy Scout troop would gather for the Super Bowl. We would play GameCube, pause for the commercials, watch together, then resume playing. The commercials were the event.
The Super Bowl was one of the last shared cultural experiences in the country. Now even that is fragmenting quickly.
Sources:
- Super Bowl LX, Bad Bunny’s halftime fall shy of ratings records – ESPN
- Bad Bunny’s Post-Super Bowl Chart Takeover: Will He Get the No. 1? – Billboard
- Super Bowl 2026 Halftime Show Official Ratings Revealed for Bad Bunny & Kid Rock – TV Insider
- Kid Rock headlines TPUSA counterprogrammed Super Bowl halftime show – ABC News
- 90s Rocker Sends Clear Message After Super Bowl LX – Parade
- Bad Bunny gets massive streaming surge after Super Bowl, Kid Rock absent from charts – KTLA
- iTunes Top 100 Songs Chart 2026 – PopVortex
- Ella Langley Makes Billboard Chart History With Choosin Texas – Grand Pinnacle Tribune
- Turning Point Halftime Show: What Kid Rock, Lee Brice & More Did – Billboard
- Why Bad Bunny’s God Bless America Moment at the Super Bowl Sparked Controversy – Fox News
Zeitgeist: Super Bowl Corporate Slop vs. Independent Music
Thomas: Music sales tell a more useful story for authors because the music business closely parallels the eBook market. People consume music in two primary ways. They stream it on platforms such as Spotify, which resembles Kindle Unlimited in how artists are compensated, or they purchase songs on platforms such as iTunes, which is similar to buying an eBook outright on Amazon.
People still buy compact discs, but unlike books, where holding paper is often considered superior, most listeners do not view physical CDs as a better experience. Vinyl has not reached the same status as print books for most consumers. For this comparison, we will set physical sales aside.
Immediately after the Super Bowl, the number one song on iTunes was not by Bad Bunny. It was by Kid Rock. The Turning Point halftime show was smaller than the official show. No one claims otherwise. Yet Kid Rock was selling more songs on iTunes than Bad Bunny.
Another artist from the Turning Point halftime show also appeared in the top five. Bad Bunny did place one or two songs in the top five as well. But here is what is truly interesting. Tom MacDonald, a fully independent artist who was not on either halftime show, also had a top-five song.
Without network television exposure or a conservative media boost, he built a platform that rivals both. He sells large volumes to a dedicated fan base. I encourage authors to study Tom MacDonald’s model. His “Hangover Gang” functions much like a tribe. They actively support him. If buying a copy helps him climb the charts, they will buy it, even though streaming on Spotify and watching on YouTube is free. He sells directly, connects with fans on YouTube, and ties his music to a larger mission. His strategy closely resembles the Novel Marketing approach of serving a clearly defined audience.
Jonathan: To complete the picture, we need to examine streaming. Bad Bunny dominated Spotify and Apple Music, generating 5.7 million U.S. streams in a single day. His overall streams surged 175%. Kid Rock did not appear on Spotify’s daily top artists chart. His cover received roughly 332,000 Spotify streams.
These platforms represent different user behaviors. Someone who buys a song on iTunes is making a conscious purchase. They could stream it, but they choose to buy it permanently. That purchase is also a statement of support, but a single stream pays the artist very little.
Bad Bunny had more streams, but streams represent lower commitment. Many listeners were likely exploring his music after seeing him for the first time. Streaming is discovery. Purchasing is commitment.
Thomas: It will be interesting to see whether Bad Bunny’s streaming surge continues next week. Did listeners discover a new favorite artist, or was it temporary curiosity?
What does Super Bowl halftime music have to do with authors?
Thomas: This matters for authors because Spotify is expanding into publishing, not only audiobooks but also eBooks and physical books. Spotify users are not the same as Amazon buyers.
If your ideal reader behaves like Kid Rock’s audience, they may not be heavy Spotify users. They may prefer direct purchase. Tom MacDonald’s audience thrives on direct support. He earns significantly from YouTube as well, sometimes more than from Spotify or Audible. Authors are doing the same by posting audiobooks to YouTube and monetizing through ads and premium subscriptions.
Knowing where your audience spends money is critical. When a moment of national attention arrives, the question is where that attention converts into revenue.
Jonathan: Follow the money. When defining your target reader, ask whether they spend money or prefer free access. You can grow a newsletter quickly by offering free books, but you will primarily attract readers who want free books. That is not always a sustainable business model.
Thomas: It can work in high-volume models such as Kindle Unlimited. Some authors succeed there without relying on direct sales or crowdfunding. But the economics differ.
A single purchase on iTunes generates far more revenue than a single stream. A purchase might net around eighty cents to a dollar for the rights holder. A stream generates a fraction of a penny. Tom MacDonald, as an independent artist, keeps both the artist share and the label share. He captures more value per sale.
Ella Langley also appeared near the top of the charts. Her song “Choosin’ Texas” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. She was not part of either halftime show. This reinforces the point. Exposure at halftime no longer guarantees dominance.
Historically, the artist who performed at the Super Bowl would top iTunes the next day. This year, that was not the case. That shift is significant. It suggests the shared cultural moment is fragmenting.
My prediction is that next year the NFL will select a safe, tame, noncontroversial act.
For twenty years my family has found halftime shows objectionable. Some were better than others. The Coldplay performance may have been the last broadly agreeable one. Perhaps they will even choose Nickelback.
Jonathan: The larger point is that the official halftime show may become irrelevant because audiences will curate their own experiences.
Thomas: That seems increasingly likely. The NFL is attempting to broaden its international reach. But changing the halftime music does not make someone who dislikes football suddenly care about football. You risk alienating core fans without successfully attracting new ones.
Tom MacDonald understands his audience. He makes music for people who already resonate with his message. They share it. They buy it. They support him. In terms of direct monetization, he may be the biggest winner in this entire situation.
My advice to authors is simple. Love your readers. Give them what they want. When others chase trends and neglect their core audience, step into the gap and supply what readers are already seeking.
Jonathan: Or, if it fits your brand, say it loudly and unapologetically.
Thomas: Whether quietly or boldly, if you consistently write the kind of books your readers want to read, you can build a profitable career.
