Madonna, money and metamorphosis
As every MBA student learns, a new product moves through clearly defined phases – introduction, growth, maturity and decline – in a process called the product life cycle. Companies that intend to stay in business recognize they have to innovate in order to develop new products as demand for the old ones wanes. The Apple II computer, for example, is long gone but Apple continues to thrive because its engineers and marketers have continually re-invented the computer, as well as other digital offerings, and adapted their selling tactics to the times.
Discussion of the product life cycle naturally brings us to Madonna, the mother of re-invention. Her Re-Invention World Tour in 2004 says it all in a name. Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone knows exactly what she’s doing and that’s why she’s the richest female singer on the planet.
Just how rich depends on the source but estimates put her net worth at anywhere from $250 million to $850 million. The total reportedly includes real estate she holds jointly with soon-to-be-ex Guy Ritchie – homes in London, New York, Los Angeles, and a 1,200-acre country spread in Wiltshire, England – and a valuable collection of contemporary art.
Click on the image below to continue reading this column by Harvey Enchin, Vancouver Sun.
Last year, her Confessions World Tour raked in $260 million US, which according to Forbes magazine, boosted her total earnings from June 2006 to June 2007 to $72 million, including revenue from album sales, clothing lines (she has a fashion label with H&M), fragrance deals, broadcasting rights and endorsements.
It seems like only yesterday when Madonna, who turned 50 in August, had her first hit single, a dance tune called Holiday, in 1983. A year later, she released Like a Virgin, which made up for its melodic banality with a compelling video shot in New York and Venice showing her prancing in a wedding dress and dancing on a gondola. Her risque performance of the song at the MTV Video Awards revitalized the bustier industry and made wearing a white wedding dress acceptable for anyone.
Since then, her uncanny ability to attract publicity, her remarkable business acumen and a knack for reinventing herself has allowed her to overcome a mediocre voice to become the best-selling female recording artist in the world.
Her metamorphosis from the Lolita-ish not-quite-a-virgin to the hooker-punk of Desperately Seeking Susan, from the lingerie-clad Material Girl of the Blond Ambition Tour to Eva Peron, from the Marilyn Monroe femme fatale in Dick Tracy to the gangsta pimp-gypsy-futuristic characters she brings to her Sticky and Sweet Tour that touched down in Vancouver last night, has kept her fresh – at least, as fresh as any entertainer who has been in the business for 25 years can be.
Not only has Madonna set trends in fashion, video and concert performance, she has been a pioneer in the music business; actively participating in the management of MadGuy Films, Boy Toy Inc., Webo Girl, Siren Films and Slutco Inc.; but also in negotiating breakthrough business deals, such as last year’s $120-million contract with concert promoter Live Nation. That deal encompasses future albums, tours, the fan club and website, sponsorship agreements, merchandising, TV and film projects – and also made her a shareholder in the company. She also broke the business mould by penning a deal with StubHub, a ticket reseller, that gives her a piece of the action in the secondary market – or, to use the vernacular, scalping.
Earlier this year, she signed contracts with Vodafone, Unilever and Fuji that give the companies the right to use her music to sell mobile phones and hair care products while garnering global publicity for her album Hard Candy before its release.
Madonna has won too many awards for her music, videos, performances and acting to list here but she deserves one more – an honorary MBA.