Madonna has reportedly joined other major musicians dumping their labels for non-traditional music deals. Madonna is close to signing a US $120 million deal with concert promoter Live Nation.

In the deal, Madonna will receive a mix of cash and stock in exchange for allowing Live Nation to distribute three studio albums, promote concert tours, sell merchandise and license her name.

The move is significant for Madonna. The 49-year-old singer has recorded for the Warner Music Group-owned label her entire career, stretching back to her 1983 self-titled debut album.

This type of move is likely to become more common for established artists, but it would be easy to read too much into it. As the CD cash cow declines, the labels are likely to look at concerts and merchandise licensing to fill the gap, which cuts into one of the few areas where musicians actually make money.

via TechCrunch