Madonna Joins Forces With Live Nation in Revolutionary Global Music Partnership

Oct 16, 2007, 01:00 ET from Live Nation

    LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Live Nation's President
 and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rapino officially confirmed today that
 Madonna has entered into an unprecedented global partnership with Live
 Nation and will become the founding artist in its Artist Nation division.
     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070220/LATU096LOGO)
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071016/LATU068)
     "The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a
 business woman, I have to move with that shift," commented Madonna. "For
 the first time in my career, the way that my music can reach my fans is
 unlimited. I've never wanted to think in a limited way and with this new
 partnership, the possibilities are endless. Who knows how my albums will be
 distributed in the future? That's what's exciting about this deal --
 everything is possible. Live Nation has offered me a true partnership and
 after 25 years in the business, I feel that I deserve that."
     "Madonna is a true icon and maverick as an artist and in business,"
 stated Mr. Rapino. "Our partnership is a defining moment in music history.
 I am thrilled that Madonna, who is also now a shareholder in our company,
 has joined with us to create a new business model for our industry.
 Bringing all the varied elements of Madonna's stunning music career into
 the Artist Nation and Live Nation family, moves her future and the future
 of our company into a unique and extraordinary place."
     The first-of-its-kind partnership between Madonna and Live Nation
 encompasses all of Madonna's future music and music-related businesses,
 including the exploitation of the Madonna brand, new studio albums,
 touring, merchandising, fan club/web site, DVD's, music-related television
 and film projects and associated sponsorship agreements. This unique new
 business model will address all of Madonna's music ventures as a total
 entity for the first time in her career.
     Arthur Fogel, Chairman of Live Nation's Global Music Division and Chief
 Executive Officer of Global Touring, who has produced the artist's last
 three worldwide tours with the company which generated close to $500
 million in the last six years commented, "Madonna is without a doubt one of
 the most fiercely original artists in history. It is a great opportunity
 for Live Nation and Artist Nation to build upon our years of success with
 Madonna as a touring artist."
     Artist Nation was created to partner with artists to manage their
 diverse rights, grow their fan bases and provide a direct connection to
 fans through the global distribution platform and marketing proficiencies
 that have made Live Nation the world's largest live music company. Headed
 by the division's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Cohl,
 Artist Nation has significant infrastructure in place to execute additional
 revenue streams including recorded music, merchandise, studios, media
 rights, digital rights, fan club/website and sponsorship divisions.
     Joining with Artist Nation to work with Madonna will be Live Nation's
 unmatched global distribution platform and artist-to-fan-reach, including
 over 80 offices in l8 countries, over 200 national and local sponsorship
 personnel, over l60 venues, access to over 35 million fans that attend well
 over l0,000 shows that Live Nation produces, promotes and/or hosts each
 year for over l,000 artists including fan access via Live Nation's growing
 database of over 25 million fans.
     "I've been fortunate enough to work with Madonna for half my life. She
 has always encouraged me and set a great example for me to push the
 boundaries to reach our full potential. This partnership exemplifies just
 that," commented Madonna's co-manager Guy Oseary.
     Angela Becker, Madonna's co-manager added, "The partnership and vision
 for the future that Artist Nation along with Live Nation presented to us
 assured me that this is the ideal home for Madonna. It is with great trust
 and optimism that we collectively move ahead together."
     In regard to Madonna's relationship with her current label, the artist
 commented, "My time with Warner Bros. Records has been great. I appreciate
 their hard work and value the many relationships I have developed over the
 years with the label in the U.S. and around the world. I have an album
 coming out with them next year and I'm excited about it. We still have work
 to do together."
     ABOUT MADONNA:
     The multi-Grammy Award winning artist, songwriter, children's book
 author, producer and video visionary with an unrivaled reputation for
 astonishing stage spectacles, has made music history many times over,
 logging an incredible 12 number one pop singles and 35 number one dance
 singles in the U.S. alone. Her 2006 "Confessions" tour generated almost
 $200 million, making it the highest grossing concert tour of all time by a
 female artist. Over the last 25 years, Madonna's collective record sales
 number over 200 million albums worldwide. Her last album, Confessions On A
 Dance Floor debuted at number one in 29 countries and sold almost 8 million
 copies worldwide. Her last concert DVD The Confessions Tour -- Live from
 London, sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide.
     ABOUT LIVE NATION:
     Live Nation is the future of the music business. With the most live
 concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most
 comprehensive concert search engine on the web, Live Nation is
 revolutionizing the music industry: onstage and online.
     Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the
 New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." Additional
 information about the company can be found at http://www.livenation.com
 under the "About Us" section.
 
 

SOURCE Live Nation
    LOS ANGELES, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Live Nation's President
 and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rapino officially confirmed today that
 Madonna has entered into an unprecedented global partnership with Live
 Nation and will become the founding artist in its Artist Nation division.
     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070220/LATU096LOGO)
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071016/LATU068)
     "The paradigm in the music business has shifted and as an artist and a
 business woman, I have to move with that shift," commented Madonna. "For
 the first time in my career, the way that my music can reach my fans is
 unlimited. I've never wanted to think in a limited way and with this new
 partnership, the possibilities are endless. Who knows how my albums will be
 distributed in the future? That's what's exciting about this deal --
 everything is possible. Live Nation has offered me a true partnership and
 after 25 years in the business, I feel that I deserve that."
     "Madonna is a true icon and maverick as an artist and in business,"
 stated Mr. Rapino. "Our partnership is a defining moment in music history.
 I am thrilled that Madonna, who is also now a shareholder in our company,
 has joined with us to create a new business model for our industry.
 Bringing all the varied elements of Madonna's stunning music career into
 the Artist Nation and Live Nation family, moves her future and the future
 of our company into a unique and extraordinary place."
     The first-of-its-kind partnership between Madonna and Live Nation
 encompasses all of Madonna's future music and music-related businesses,
 including the exploitation of the Madonna brand, new studio albums,
 touring, merchandising, fan club/web site, DVD's, music-related television
 and film projects and associated sponsorship agreements. This unique new
 business model will address all of Madonna's music ventures as a total
 entity for the first time in her career.
     Arthur Fogel, Chairman of Live Nation's Global Music Division and Chief
 Executive Officer of Global Touring, who has produced the artist's last
 three worldwide tours with the company which generated close to $500
 million in the last six years commented, "Madonna is without a doubt one of
 the most fiercely original artists in history. It is a great opportunity
 for Live Nation and Artist Nation to build upon our years of success with
 Madonna as a touring artist."
     Artist Nation was created to partner with artists to manage their
 diverse rights, grow their fan bases and provide a direct connection to
 fans through the global distribution platform and marketing proficiencies
 that have made Live Nation the world's largest live music company. Headed
 by the division's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Cohl,
 Artist Nation has significant infrastructure in place to execute additional
 revenue streams including recorded music, merchandise, studios, media
 rights, digital rights, fan club/website and sponsorship divisions.
     Joining with Artist Nation to work with Madonna will be Live Nation's
 unmatched global distribution platform and artist-to-fan-reach, including
 over 80 offices in l8 countries, over 200 national and local sponsorship
 personnel, over l60 venues, access to over 35 million fans that attend well
 over l0,000 shows that Live Nation produces, promotes and/or hosts each
 year for over l,000 artists including fan access via Live Nation's growing
 database of over 25 million fans.
     "I've been fortunate enough to work with Madonna for half my life. She
 has always encouraged me and set a great example for me to push the
 boundaries to reach our full potential. This partnership exemplifies just
 that," commented Madonna's co-manager Guy Oseary.
     Angela Becker, Madonna's co-manager added, "The partnership and vision
 for the future that Artist Nation along with Live Nation presented to us
 assured me that this is the ideal home for Madonna. It is with great trust
 and optimism that we collectively move ahead together."
     In regard to Madonna's relationship with her current label, the artist
 commented, "My time with Warner Bros. Records has been great. I appreciate
 their hard work and value the many relationships I have developed over the
 years with the label in the U.S. and around the world. I have an album
 coming out with them next year and I'm excited about it. We still have work
 to do together."
     ABOUT MADONNA:
     The multi-Grammy Award winning artist, songwriter, children's book
 author, producer and video visionary with an unrivaled reputation for
 astonishing stage spectacles, has made music history many times over,
 logging an incredible 12 number one pop singles and 35 number one dance
 singles in the U.S. alone. Her 2006 "Confessions" tour generated almost
 $200 million, making it the highest grossing concert tour of all time by a
 female artist. Over the last 25 years, Madonna's collective record sales
 number over 200 million albums worldwide. Her last album, Confessions On A
 Dance Floor debuted at number one in 29 countries and sold almost 8 million
 copies worldwide. Her last concert DVD The Confessions Tour -- Live from
 London, sold more than 1.2 million copies worldwide.
     ABOUT LIVE NATION:
     Live Nation is the future of the music business. With the most live
 concerts, music venues and festivals in the world and the most
 comprehensive concert search engine on the web, Live Nation is
 revolutionizing the music industry: onstage and online.
     Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the
 New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." Additional
 information about the company can be found at http://www.livenation.com
 under the "About Us" section.
 
 SOURCE Live Nation