Madonna rollin’ in it thanks to tour takings

IF anyone had any doubt that touring is where the money is in today’s music business, a look at Billboard’s top moneymakers of 2008 should hammer the point home.

Regardless of genre, retail sales or radio play, each of the 20 acts on the moneymakers list toured last year. For almost all of them, touring generated the most revenue.

And in a year when recorded music sales declined yet again, many earned more at the box office than ever before.