Madonna abandons Warner Bros. Records
p2pnet news | Music:- The Wall Street Journal calls it a “seismic shift” and says it’ll to rock the music industry.
Has another major band joined Radiohead in deciding fans aren’t the criminals and thieves Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG say they are?
Not quite. In fact, not even nearly.
Madonna is, however, close to leaving Warner Music Group’s Warner Bros. Records for a $120 million deal with concert-promotion giant Live Nation Inc, says the story, quoting the ubiquitous “people familiar with the deal”.
Almost 50, she still owes Warner Music another album. But after that, a 10-year pact with Live Nation would give Madonna, “a rich mix of cash and stock in exchange for the rights to sell three studio albums, promote concert tours, sell merchandise and license her name,” says the story, going on the fact a concert promoter could land the deal, “rather than a traditional record label like Warner Music,” shows just how quickly the landscape is shifting in the “cratering” corporate music industry.
“Now, however, a range of players in the music business – labels, concert promoters and even managers and ticketing companies – are eager to make broad deals that give them a larger piece of the pie by participating in revenue streams such as endorsement deals between artists and advertisers, as well as the sales of concert tickets and merchandise,” says the WSJ, continuing:
The package includes a general advance of $17.5 million and advance payments for three albums of $50 million to $60 million, according to people briefed on the deal.
Live Nation also is expected to pay $50 million in cash and stock for the right to promote her concert tours. If and when she does tour, though, the promoter will only get 10% of the gross, with 90% going to the artist; that is the standard split for music superstars in the concert industry these days. Income from licensing ventures such as the use of Madonna’s name on fragrances or other products would be divided evenly with Live Nation.
But Warner Music still has the rights to sell Madonna’s catalog of albums dating back over 20 years, and her last studio album for the label will probably arrive next year, says the WSJ, adding:
“It isn’t clear when her first album for Live Nation would be delivered, nor is it clear how the promoter would distribute and promote the album, since the company has limited infrastructure to do so. Under the terms of the deal, ownership of Madonna’s three Live Nation albums would revert to her after a period that couldn’t be determined.
“People briefed on the deal speculated that Live Nation would enter a licensing arrangement with one or more traditional labels to release her albums. A spokesman for Live Nation declined to comment. Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary, couldn’t be reached.”
Also See:
Wall Street Journal – Madonna Heads for Virgin Territory, October 11, 2007
criminals and thieves – Radiohead: Big Music`s worse nightmare, October 1, 2007
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It’s really easy!
Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for the official download, and here for details. Click here or here to learn what technologies may help you by-pass censorship in your area.
October 11th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Like the boycott this trend OF artist dishing their major is going to accelerate exponentially. The end is near for the parasites!
YES!
I’t s not going to make me suport this beach of Madocrap though. She does not deserve it nor need it and I hate her shit.
October 11th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
Well I disagree that this is NOT a shift for the Big four….it is a MAJOR SHIFT!!
Never before have so many top name artists dropped their contracts with the big 4 to go out on their own with smaller labels.
If more major artists do this….which the labels do not pay them very well anyway….the big 4 will be forced to change the way they see things. It took the dinosaurs a long time to die, but they eventually did….the big 4 are no different.
They have tried to hang on to a business model that is outdated and sue it’s own customers into submission….but all it has done is create a public backlash. I think the artists are catching on.
October 12th, 2007 at 9:03 am
“The package includes a general advance of $17.5 million and advance payments for three albums of $50 million to $60 million, according to people briefed on the deal.”
I find it hard to comprehend how outrageously large these sums are.
They claim they’re being devasted by piracy, yet they can still afford this. It really doesn’t take a rocket scientist does it?