And even more speculation, which is fun. This is the speculation surrounding the deal being done, or not, between Madonna and Live Nation. As previously reported, rumours have been doing the rounds for a while that Madge is planning one of those '360 degree' deals with the live music conglom, and those rumours stepped up yesterday as the Wall Street Journal reported that the new deal was close to being completed.
The Journal says the new deal will be worth $120 million, run for ten years and will be "virtually unprecedented" in its nature. The live music firm would secure not only the rights to promote her future tours, but also to release three studio albums, sell merchandise and manage the licensing of the Madonna name, taking a cut on all those revenue streams to recoup and profit on its investments.
Such so called 360 degree deals have been discussed for a while across the music business, though few have actually been done. But record companies are known to be increasingly keen to get involved in their artists' live and merchandising activities, while the fact Madonna is close to doing one of these deals with Live Nation shows key players in the live sector are also keen to have more involvement in the wider careers of the artists they work with.
After previous rumours of a Live Nation deal Madonna's spokeswoman confirmed the singer was in talks with both Live Nation and existing label Warner. She also said that Madonna was still contracted to deliver one more studio album and a greatest hits to Warner before beginning a new recording deal. Whether the Live Nation deal would look to buy the singer out of those commitments, or begin once they are fulfilled, is not clear.