This weekend is the Super Bowl. Generally, I don’t care about it. This will be the first time I actually watch it since coming to college. In fact, I am helping throw a Super Bowl party. The thing is though; I am not looking forward to the game, or the commercials, or the half-time performance. All I am excited for is the food, specifically the blue cupcakes, with green sprinkles, but that is beside the point.

In the summer of 2013, as myself and two other DJs were hurtling North, up I-5, on our way to Bumbershoot, we passed by the Tacoma Dome, where the latest Taylor Swift concert was to be held that night. All three of us were blown away by the number of tour buses and semi-trucks that were staged in the parking lot. We managed a count, upwards of 20, but I don’t quite remember that number. To me, who sees shows from artists who have a van, and maybe a trailer, it was a crazy concept. Sure, I know these multi-million dollar tours happen, but the extravagance!

I would be hard pressed to spend more than $25 to see any show that only had one or two acts. Let alone, spend more than $100 to be one of thousands in an arena. There have been times that I thought about spending the money on an arena show, but it just costs so much money for something that just is not that appealing. I would rather be in a more intimate venue, where there are no fancy light shows, and just be there for the music. That sounds so hipster of me, but it is the truth.

Back to Bumbershoot, we ended up asking every artist we interviewed how they toured, and their opinions on the Taylor Swift tour. Almost everyone we talked to toured in a van, with a trailer, but their opinions on the T. Swift tour varied. Some people just brushed it off with a good for her attitude, while others had some really good responses in regards to the music industry. The highlight though was from Down North’s front man Anthony. Immediately after asking the question, it led to a conversation about Miley Cyrus and twerking, while also talking about how it is so crazy about the gap between the struggling musicians to the multi-million dollar entertainers.

Liger, Anthony (From Down North), and Sticky Icky at Bumbershoot 2013

This dichotomy between the musicians and entertainers was further proven with our interview with Hot Bodies in Motion front man Ben. He originally wrote one of Macklemore’s more popular songs, but gets no credit for it. Yet, for fear of rocking the boat in the Seattle music scene, he hasn’t done anything really about it. You can see Macklemore originally performing the song with Hot Bodies in Motion below.

I know I am jumping around everywhere today, but I now want to return to the Taylor Swift issue. However, I am not talking about her concerts. It is more about the controversy over her pulling her music off of Spotify, citing that there is not enough money in the royalties. Okay, I understand that her time is worth money, but there are the musicians out there that want their ideas and music out there. Taylor Swift is not hurting for cash, there are musicians that have multiple day jobs, but still put their music on platforms such as Spotify because they just want it out there.

The Super Bowl half time performances have been muddled with controversy. One big controversy that jumps to my mind is that of Janet Jackson’s wardrobe mishap. However, every performance after that, I don’t remember. I think The Eagles performed one year, and Bruno Mars another year, but none of them are memorable to me. Sure, they had the lights, and the dancers, and the performance, but nothing memorable. If I remember correctly, there was another controversy in the last several years about a musician lip-syncing during the Super Bowl, but I don’t remember who or when.

All of these controversies lead to one thing: Publicity. Publicity equates to one thing in the entertainer’s eyes: Money. I am sure that after some of these events, even if they weren’t public, it led to more people just checking out that entertainer. However, musicians struggle for that publicity; mainly they are touring in small vans, and stopping at college radio just to get the music out there. Sure, they all probably dream of making it big, but they are putting in the leg work. They are being musicians before entertainers.

This year, Katy Perry is set to perform the half time show. What she will be doing? It is anyone’s guess. I can guess though that there will be lights and dancers. One thing that I will be certain of: I will be more engrossed in my blue cup cake, with green sprinkles, than what she does for the publicity.