Numerous magazines and websites have reported that Madonna is on the verge of abandoning her 'traditional' record deal with Warner Music for a £120million deal covering recording rights, live and merchandising with concert promoter Live Nation.

Reports say that under the proposed deal, Madonna would get a signing on bonus of about $18million, an advance of about $17million for each of three albums, stock, and an agreement for Live Nation to exclusively promote her tours. It was also reported that to try and keep Madonna, Warner pursued a partnership with Ticketmaster that would have enabled the record company to offer a spectrum of touring services to Madonna who was, after the Rolling Stones, the second biggest grossing live touring artist last year.