In terms of timing announcements, Aston Villa's reveal that Kendrick Lamar and SZA would be performing at Villa Park this summer couldn't have been better.

On Sunday night, the 37-year-old US rapper headlined the halftime show at one of the world's most iconic sporting events - the Super Bowl - with singer SZA joining him on stage, as did Serena Williams and Samuel L. Jackson at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Lamar's decision to perform his huge hit from 2024, 'Not Like Us', despite the threat of legal action from Canadian rapper Drake, made his performance almost as big a talking point as what happened on the field, with Philadelphia Eagles overcoming the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22.

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Less than 24 hours later and Lamar has been confirmed as a headline act at a summer of music at Villa Park, one that the club hope to see more of moving forward and one that will add millions to the club's bottom line.

Three separate gigs will take place at Villa Park this year, with US rock giants Guns N' Roses performing one date on June 23, legendary Birmingham rockers Black Sabbath at the stadium on July 5, with Lamar and SZA rounding things off on July 10.

For football clubs, finding more ways to generate revenue from their stadiums is something that is growing in importance, and a key reason why so many clubs have either moved home (Tottenham Hotspur), are planning to move to a new stadium (Manchester United, Everton), or have redeveloped where they are (Liverpool).

For each of those clubs listed above, the ability to host events outside the football calendar during the summer months, a period of low cash flow for clubs due to a lack of matchday revenue, has, is and will be a key part of the investment thesis behind improving the bricks and mortar.

Spurs' new home has played host to concerts from the likes of Beyonce - while pop superstar Taylor Swift played three sell-out nights at Anfield last summer. In hosting three globally renowned artists, Villa have leaned into the pull of Birmingham as a major destination that music artists want to cater for on their tours, as Lamar and SZA have shown by including it on their Grand National Tour.

The recent publication of the Deloitte Football Money League had Villa at 18th on the list with revenue set to be at £267million for 2023/2024 when the accounts are published. Of that figure, £37million was attributed to commercial income, £28million lower than the next lowest commercial revenue earned by a club in the top 20.

That is something that Villa are keen to address.

To use Liverpool as an example of what Villa might be able to expect from concerts, summer 2024 saw Anfield play host to the world's biggest music artist right now, with Swift performing three sell-out nights at the stadium. That was followed by two dates played by another American pop icon, Pink, in the weeks that followed.

Swift wrapped up her phenomenally successful Eras Tour late last year in Vancouver, Canada, with the tour by far and away the highest grossing tour of all time, with New York Times data showing that 149 shows grossed almost $14million per show.

It was lucrative for Liverpool, as well, and a reason why summer concerts are likely to be a regular fixture moving forward as they become ever more valuable to clubs who have ownership of their own venues.

Anfield was one of around a dozen sports-team owned venues to appear as part of Swift's global tour, with three nights played only surpassed by the six-night runs that took place at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, and the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

According to estimates, Swift's three nights likely bagged the Reds between $9million and $12million (£7million and £9.5million), although the economics of the concerts can vary due to region given US ticket prices carried a premium.

Sell-out crowds will be anticipated for all three gigs at Villa Park, and reasonable estimates for money coming from them could be pegged at around £3million plus.

What usually happens when stadiums are selected as part of arena tours is that the owners of the stadium will be paid a rental fee for its use by the tour promoters.

What then happens is a running total for the club throughout the evening, as merchandise sales and ticket sales, as well as clubs being able to, often, upsell for such things as hospitality to generate more revenue. To use the average, Liverpool stood to make more than £1million per evening from the sale of Swift merchandise.

Other benefits for the club include the additional exposure that the stadium and team might get from hosting a famous name. Obviously, the likes of Ozzy Osbourne are well-known Villa fans and were used, successfully, to promote the home kit launch at the beginning of this season. If someone as culturally relevant as Lamar right now shines a spotlight on the club, either by, for example, wearing a Villa shirt or piquing interest in the venue through his social channels, then it can bring the club to a different audience that may not have previously been connected.

The local economy will likely also benefit to the tune of millions through additional footfall in hotels, eateries and shops during the period.

For Villa, it is the start of something they want to pursue often moving forward, and points to why they want to grow revenue streams away from their heavy reliance on matchday and broadcast monies at a time when the Premier League is gearing itself up to replace profit and sustainability rules (PSRs) with a squad cost ratio similar to UEFA's, where wages, amortisation and severance costs are divided by total revenue and the profit made on player sales. Villa need to do some work to bring down their own ratio, and growing commercial revenue is at the top of the list.