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.

Madonna was top of the list (€188.4 million). She had the 50th- best-selling album in the US and ranked 14th on the list of digital track sellers — but had the highest-earning 2008 tour.

Madonna was followed on the moneymakers list by Bon Jovi with €122.2m, Bruce Springsteen (€121.4m), the Police (€84.8m), Celine Dion (€77m), Kenny Chesney (€70m), Neil Diamond (€63m), Rascall Flatts (€49m), Jonas Brothers (€48.2m) and Coldplay (€48.2m).

The top-five moneymakers are also the five acts that earned the most on tour, and in the same order, according to Billboard Boxscore.

Those questioning Madonna’s reported 10-year €93.4m million multi-rights deal with concert promoter Live Nation might reconsider.

Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet tour took in €178.9m at the box office, although the extravagant production might have cost up to 40% of that gross, according to industry estimates.

The margin is much better on tour merchandise, where Madonna probably raked in more than €14m in sales, not counting her licensing business.

Of course, nothing helps reduce tour production costs like more touring. So Madonna will perform another run of concerts this summer — 25 shows in Britain and Europe — which will add to the take of the top-grossing tour by a female or solo artist.

Outside of the Britain, all of Madonna’s concerts will be in stadiums, so she’ll gross several million euros per night.

By the autumn, Sticky & Sweet will have run for 80 shows and earned a place in the top-five grossing tours in history.

This is the first time Madonna has ever extended a tour.

“It absolutely hasn’t happened in the four tours I’ve been involved with,” says Madonna’s tour producer Arthur Fogel, chairman of global music for Live Nation.

“There’s been talk [of extending] during each one, but it has never come to be. But with this one, she loves the show, she’s had a great time and she’s excited about playing new markets.”