Proving that they seriously consider themselves the Irish Rolling Stones, late 40-somethings U2 have signed a 12-year deal with concert promoter Live Nation Inc. that covers all aspects of their career except recording rights and management. According to Billboard, this includes "merchandise and licensing rights, sponsorship and strategic alliances, digital rights, fan club/Web sites and other marketing and creative services". How much this deal is worth is not publicly known at this time.
Madonna recently signed a 10-year agreement with Live Nation for $120 million which also includes a 3-album deal. Her entire catalog up to this point has been on Sire/Warner Bros.
