Posted by chicagomedia.org on June 24, 2008 at 12:41:40:
Is Live Nation Still Happy With Madonna Deal?
LIVE NATION is on the defensive about the health of its $120 million MADONNA deal, reports THE NEW YORK POST. Big sales around the world for the MATERIAL GIRL's upcoming "Sticky & Sweet" tour have been overshadowed in music industry circles by chatter about the large number of tickets still available for a key stop in LOS ANGELES in NOVEMBER and softer-than-expected sales of her latest album "Hard Candy."
The tour so far has grossed more than $74 million in sales for 13 dates in EUROPE and piled up a string of sellouts at arenas across NORTH AMERICA, according to LIVE NATION.
But just over half of the 43,000 seats available for a NOVEMBER 6th date at LOS ANGELES' DODGER STADIUM -- 27,000 tickets in all -- have been sold in their first three weeks of availability, raising red flags about the limits of U.S. demand for the 49-year-old MADONNA at this stage of her career.
It also comes as LIVE NATION's management has been at odds over the strategy of handing out big-bucks, all-encompassing contracts, known as 360 deals, for stars like MADONNA and JAY-Z. The rift led to last week's exit of company chairman MICHAEL COHL.
(All Access)