I just like a payer: Madonna lands £60m luxury recording contract

The superstar has become the latest to defy the music industry's set-up by ditching her long-term record label Warner Brothers Records.

Instead she is poised to sign a lucrative deal with concert promoters Live Nation, which will not only look after her world tours and merchandise but will also release her new albums.

Scroll down for more

The 10-year contract will rely on her touring until she is 60 years old - but in return she can expect half the cash upfront and valuable stocks in her merchandise.

The 49-year-old singer had been contracted to Warner since 1983 but was persuaded to join Live Nation, which last year helped her Confessions tour rake in £43 million, the highest-grossing tour ever by a female artist.

After their success in promoting the tour, Madonna has apparently decided to put her entire musical career in their hands.

It marks a growing move by artists to take control of their acts away from record companies.

Traditionally artists signed deals which only gave record companies a stake in their albums - but there has been an increase in the number of companies angling to cover all aspects of the music industry to include tours, products and album sales.

The loss of Madonna will come as a huge blow to Warner, which reportedly battled to keep her by looking into a deal to cover her tour ticket sales but failed to match the £60 million offer.

The deal comes as a coup for Live Nation as Madonna is its biggest signing. She is expected to receive a signing bonus of nearly £9 million and an advance payment of more than £8 million for each of three albums over a decade.

But it will be some time before she can join her new managers as she is still contracted to release a new album with Warner next year and a greatest hits record.

The singer, who has been among Warner's bestselling artists for more than 20 years, accepted the new offer last week, according to industry insiders.

Live Nation, the world's largest live music company, will have exclusive rights to promote the pop icon's tours and will give Madonna shares in the revenue.

The firm can also sell Madonna merchandise and license her name.

The move shows that traditional record deals are no longer as lucrative and comes in the wake of Radiohead recently inviting fans to download their latest album and pay as much as they thought it was worth.

Sales averaged less than the cost of a CD with most fans paying about £7 and crashing the band's website.

Last month Prince also set a new trend by offering his new album for free with the Daily Mail's sister paper, the Mail on Sunday.

British Phonographic Industry spokesman Matt Phillips said: "Artists have far more choice about who they work with.

"Modern music companies are no longer simply record labels or just publishers, promoters or merchandisers but are providing a bunch of those services under one roof."

Warner Music will still retain Madonna's full music catalogue from her 1983 debut album to the present day, including hits such as Like a Virgin and Music.

Both Warner Music and Live Nation declined to comment.