Material Girl signs $120M deal with Live Nation

Madonna is leaving Warner Music, signing a new $120-million contract with concert promoter Live Nation, according to the Wall Street Journal website.

The 49-year-old Queen of Pop who first hit itbig during the 1980s with singles such as Holiday, Lucky Star, Crazy For You, Like a Virgin and Material Girl is reported to have inked a 10-year deal.

The deal marks a massive shift for the singer, who has been with Warner almost her entire career, starting in 1983.It also cracks open a new era for the music industry because it combines recording and touring rights.

The pact would provide the performer with a mix of cash and stock in exchange for the rights to sell three albums, promote concert tours, sell merchandise and license her name for sponsorship deals.

Madonna will receive a signing bonus of about $18 million and an advance of roughly $17 million for each of three albums, a source told the Associated Press. Another $50 million is expected to be handed out in stock and shares.

The industry has been rife with reports of Madonna's impending departure from Warner after her management company said last week the singer would walk away from her old label if it could not match an offer made by Live Nation.

Her Warner contract requires her to deliver another new album and a second one of her greatest hits.

Madonna is listed in the Guinness World Records as the most successful female musician in the world. Her 2006 Confessions tour, which took her to 60 cities around the world, racked up sales of $260 million, according to Billboard, and was hailed by the industry magazine as the top grossing tour by a female act.

The singer was recently nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A master of re-invention,Madonna followed her 1980s success during the 1990s with smash singles such as Express Yourself, Like a Prayer, Vogue and Justify My Love.

Her more recent offerings have returned her to her roots, dabbling in dance and electronica with the release of Confessions on a Dance Floor in 2005.