Sources confirmed that Live Nation has offered Madonna a 10-year deal worth a staggering 60m. The deal which Warner refused to match is for three records and includes concert rights and merchandising sales. Despite losing one of its highest-grossing acts, Warner Music was unwilling to stump up such a huge sum.
The three albums would have to sell 15 million units each for Live Nation to break even and Madonna has not commanded sales at that level since her 1990 "greatest hits" collection according to sources despite unofficial industry data suggesting she has come close. Whether she will be able to shift that many units at the ripe age of 60 when the Live Nation deal ends is debatable. A hit album in the 1980s could be expected to shift 15-20 million units worldwide but in today's climate, a successful release could be expected to sell around nine million.
News RSS