With a nod to Prince, Madonna has jumped on the bandwagon...another music pop star has abandoned the corporate jungle of a major record label - in this instance, Warner - for greener pastures elsewhere.
Live Nation has signed the mercurial material girl to a multi-album deal...with promises of icing on the cake - touring engagements and merchandising opportunities geared to stash some extra cash into her mad money purse.
Although there was an announcement that Live Nation, Inc. would make Madonna a shareholder as well, the specifics were not hammered out yet. Just maybe, no one's talking about the lucrative deal, to stave off an onslaught of pushy artists throwing themselves at the promoter's door!
Estimated worth of the deal? $200 million, industry-insiders say.
Although the company was criticized by Wall Street analysts for lavishing so much to land the musical icon, they defended their actions vigorously.
Chief Executive, Micahel Rapino, argued that the partnership with an artist of Madonna's calibre validated his company's strategy of developing longer and deeper relationships with touring performers through its new unit, Artist Nation.
For Madonna, the amicable parting with Warner, must have been bittersweet.
After twenty-five years of successful schmoozing, Madonna leaves a little empty-handed; after all, Warner still maintains all the recording and publishing rights to all her music.
Ouch!
And, she's still committed to a send-off album for Warner in the next year.
Yeah, she must be chomping at the bit to sever ties with her all-powerful task-master!
In a statement to the press, Madonna noted,
"The paradigm in the music business has shifted, and as an artist and a businesswoman, I have to move with that shift."
