On Tour, Madge Makes the Most Money

As Madonna embarks on life sans Guy Ritche, she’ll have more than A-Rod to look forward to. NME.com is reporting that Madge’s Sticky and Sweet World Tour is set to become the highest grossing jaunt by a solo artist ever. According to Live Nation—the concert promoter who signed Madonna last year to a multi-platform deal worth a reported $120 million—the tour will have raked in $282 million by the time it winds down in Brazil later this month. (That figure breaks Madonna’s previous record of $194 million—the highest gross ever by a female artist—set by her 2006 Confessions tour.) Sticky and Sweet has already earned $208 million, much of which came from the 550,000 tickets Madonna sold across her 28 U.S. dates. The Material Girl capped off the American leg with two nights last week at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium (where A-Rod was there to cheer her on from the front row.)

While this is certainly good news for Madonna, it also bodes well for Live Nation’s new-fangled “all-rights” deals. After signing contracts with Madonna, Jay-Z, and U2, we wondered if the Beverly Hills-based company’s 360 approach—in which the company sinks massive funds into promoting everything from tours and albums to clothing lines and publishing rights—would pay off. Madge’s success, to say the least, certainly lends some ballast to Live Nation’s approach.