Don't cry for Warner Bros.

No doubt, losing Madonna to Live Nation in what’s quickly become regarded as a historic deal (worth a reported $120 million), was a huge blow to Warner Bros. Records, her home for the last 25 years. However, while the financial terms were, for the most part, unmatchable, don’t think the label brass is necessarily quaking in the aftershock. For one thing, they had a long time to contemplate the possibility. A source tells Hollywood Insider that negotiations went back and forth for almost six months, during which Live Nation was neither the only bidder, nor the highest. Still, Warners ”knew it was kind of leading to that,” says the source. When the news finally broke internally, Warners’ staffers had just commenced three days of corporate meetings in their Burbank headquarters. Surprisingly, the vibe was optimistic. “They stopped for one second, and kept going,” says an insider who was present. “It was actually sort of comforting because business went on — talking about new talent, all these releases coming out, focusing on the 360 deals… It was like, yes, Madonna was, and will be for a while longer, a hugely important artist for the company, but she’s not the only artist.”

Meanwhile, on a conference call with Wall Street analysts yesterday,
Live Nation CEO Mike Rapino revealed that it would be at least two
years — and more realistically, three years — before they release
Madonna’s first studio album, and a tour is likely “within the next 24
months.” On Warners’ end, publicist Liz Rosenberg says that the 49
year-old icon’s next record (which may feature songs from recent studio
sessions with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake) could drop in March
2008, with yet another greatest hits package slated for later next year
or early 2009. Rosenberg adds: “We intend to work our asses off to make
them both huge successes.”