Maybe save the live shows contract fulfillments with Live Nation all until 2016-17. New album in 2014, fully promote it for 6 months to a year, ONLY. This was her strategy on:

True Blue (didn't tour for a full year until after WTG)

Like A Prayer (ditto - waited over a year until "Dick Tracy" sdtk was about to come out)

Ray of Light (didn't tour until her following album)

True Blue, Like A Prayer, Ray of Light - not to mention her BEST (artistically) album "Bedtime Stories" (tied with "Erotica" as her zenith as an artist)...no tour for that one at all - 4 brilliant singles & videos, one r&b/pop, one pop/urban adult contemporary, one strictly dance and one based on a hip hop sample...

...just saying....maybe do JUST an album, hold off on a tour and do ONE THIRD of the 'traditional' promo lady gag-me has been doing...

Madonna has a very lucrative deal with LiveNation but the downside is that,when she does a new album,they expect her to tour,as well.I'm not even sure if she has the freedom to put out a new album *without* doing a tour.

In any case,I predict that she will begin work on a new album in January and release it late in 2014.

I notice that Madonna doesn't really aggressively promote her new albums anymore.This trend started with Hard Candy and it continued with MDNA.It's as if she feels that the tour is the "ultimate" form of promotion.She may be right,but I still miss the non-stop,in-your-face promotion that she used to do.Remember the aggressive promotion she did for Confessions On A Dancefloor? That was so exciting and it really paid off.That album was a worldwide smash.

SoulAlive said:

Remember she always wants to do movies between these massive albums.

Who saw W.E.?

You may be right Forbes just released this new list.....

Madonna is The World's Highest-Paid Musician in 2013

Lady Gaga and Madonna have a superstar rivalry made in gossip-blog heaven. The former burst onto the scene five years ago with a provocative pop sensibility reminiscent of the latter’s. Last year, Madonna accused Gaga of ripping off one of her songs; this year, the “Born This Way” singer insisted she doesn’t want the Material Girl’s throne.

From an earnings perspective, however, there’s no question over the winner of this battle’s latest round. The honor goes to Madonna, who pulled in $125 million over the past year, making her the highest-paid musician in the world. The bulk of Madge’s millions came from the tail end of her MDNA Tour, which grossed $305 million. She augments her income with heady merchandise sales at concerts, as well as her Material Girl clothing line and Truth or Dare fragrance.

Gaga ranks second with $80 million; she grossed over $160 million on her latest tour before succumbing to a hip injury. Had she been able to finish, she would have likely topped $200 million. Her ARTPOP album was released after the end of our scoring period, but should give her a boost on next year’s list. She could easily reach the No. 1 spot with a successful set of concerts, the main driver for most major artists’ earnings.

“With touring being the biggest revenue stream, if there’s an opportunity for an artist to go out, if there’s an opportunity for a promoter to curate a festival, people are doing it, said Kevin Liles, founder of KWL Enterprises and manager of artists including Big Sean, Trey Songz and Young Jeezy.

A look at the rest of the list underscores the importance of live performances in today’s music world. Bon Jovi ranks third with $79 million, most of it from the appropriately named Because We Can tour. Road warrior Toby Keith pulled in $65 million to land the No. 4 slot, while Coldplay parlayed seven-figure nightly grosses into a $64 million payday.

Of course, product extensions can provide a major boost to an artist’s bottom line as well, and few do it better than Keith. Country’s cash king has his own record label, mescal line and restaurant chain; each outlet has its own stage.

“The beauty is where it synergizes with my label,” he explained to FORBES earlier this year. “I don’t have to look for a place [for my acts] to play … they’re in Toby’s house. They’re drinking Toby’s liquor. That’s Toby’s act. And then we’re moving to the next town.”

A few of the musicians on our list, however, generate nearly all their income to sources other than music sales, record labels and touring. Sean “Diddy” Combs, who ranks No. 11 with $50 million (making him hip-hop’s highest-paid act), earns the bulk of his bucks from his wildly successful Ciroc vodka deal. His Revolt TV network, launched in October, should provide a big boost to future earnings.

Diddy and fellow hip-hop moguls Jay Z (No. 18, $42 million) and Dr. Dre (No. 20, $40 million) are the genre’s lone representatives, while Keith is one of four country acts—Taylor Swift (No. 7, $55 million), Kenny Chesney (No. 9, $53 million) and Tim McGraw (No. 24, $33 million). The rest of the list is made up of pop divas and arena rockers, with the exceptions of Tiësto (No. 25, $32 million) and Calvin Harris (No. 13, $46 million), the world’s two highest-paid DJs.

“The rise of dance music has been astronomical in the last three years and I happened to be in the right place at the right time,” he told FORBES earlier this year.

In order to form our list, we looked at income from June 1st, 2012 through June 1st, 2013, using data sources including Pollstar, the RIAA, Nielsen SoundScan, managers, lawyers and many of the artists themselves. We took into account concert ticket sales, royalties for recorded music and publishing, merchandise sales, endorsement deals and other business ventures.

Our estimates reflect pretax income before deducting fees for agents, managers and lawyers; only living artists are eligible for the list.

That last criterion may seem trivial, but were it removed, the list would have a new champion: Michael Jackson, who pulled in $160 million.

http://www.forbes.co... ... ians-2013/

[Edited 11/19/13 12:49pm]

She may realize that it is more lucrative to tour and that her fans are more willing to shell out that disposable income on huge tickets. I love her to death but I'd rather pay my rent for the month and wait for the DVD. I know people who have spent unthinkable amounts on tour merch, tickets, and the entire experience.

I want that acoustic/rock album - it'll never happen

jeidee said:

She may realize that it is more lucrative to tour and that her fans are more willing to shell out that disposable income on huge tickets. I love her to death but I'd rather pay my rent for the month and wait for the DVD. I know people who have spent unthinkable amounts on tour merch, tickets, and the entire experience.

I want that acoustic/rock album - it'll never happen

Most Madonna fans I know of will often just go to one show often in their hometown, whereas fans of other artists will go to multiple shows and travel long distances. So really a lot of hardcore Madonna fans actually spend less on her in a year than fans of other artists. A ticket is a lot but it's a one time expense, and it only happens every 2 to 3 years so I don't see why going to her show breaks the bank if you save up for it. I usually don't buy a lot of merchandise, just the program.

I used to want her to do a rock album, but now I think it would be terrible. Her voice just doesn't sound good with rock and loud guitars. She has done rock stuff on her tours, but it just doesn't seem her. Indie/rock is my favorite genre of music, but I think I like my rock and my Madonna separate. I could see her doing some acoustic stuff like on American Life and songs like Miles Away, but a full on rock thing would be terrible. If she is to explore another genre outside of dance, I think a much better direction would be R&B/soul. That's more her.

in other words: please try harder on your albums.

The last two haven't really added anything to the cannon. Except Lovespent. God, I love Lovespent. But I don't think she does

SoulAlive said:

Madonna has a very lucrative deal with LiveNation but the downside is that,when she does a new album,they expect her to tour,as well.I'm not even sure if she has the freedom to put out a new album *without* doing a tour.

In any case,I predict that she will begin work on a new album in January and release it late in 2014.

I think the only MEGA female singer that has the freedom to drop Pre-Platinum Albums & not Tour anywhere is the Legendary Ms. Streisand....Does she ever leave New York?

Glindathegood said:

jeidee said:

She may realize that it is more lucrative to tour and that her fans are more willing to shell out that disposable income on huge tickets. I love her to death but I'd rather pay my rent for the month and wait for the DVD. I know people who have spent unthinkable amounts on tour merch, tickets, and the entire experience.

I want that acoustic/rock album - it'll never happen

I used to want her to do a rock album, but now I think it would be terrible. Her voice just doesn't sound good with rock and loud guitars. She has done rock stuff on her tours, but it just doesn't seem her. Indie/rock is my favorite genre of music, but I think I like my rock and my Madonna separate. I could see her doing some acoustic stuff like on American Life and songs like Miles Away, but a full on rock thing would be terrible. If she is to explore another genre outside of dance, I think a much better direction would be R&B/soul. That's more her.

I think American Life is the closest Madonna will come to making a rock album.There was a time when I thought a rock album would be a good idea,but I think that ship has sailed.It's probably best for her to stick to a pop/dance sound,and occasionally do a rock song here and there."I Love NY" from COADF or the title track from Ray Of Light is a good example of how she can blend rock elements with dance/pop.It works very well.

Not sure what direction the next album will be,but I'll bet she doesn't stray too far from an electro/pop/dance sound.

I agree, I loved her promotion of her albums, and she worked it too

1 of my favorites was her promotion of Confessions when she took it to the ROXY in NYC stayed all night and dance until the morning

Not as a put down, but I always felt Prince could take a cue from her as far as promotion

1 thing though is that you can always tell she has fun with her career.

and she plays with her past and brings it into her future with no problem.

Madonna was the last celebrity on the red carpet at last night's Met Gala in NYC, arriving later than even honorary cochair Beyoncé Knowles. She walked the red carpet with her boyfriend, Brahim Zaibat, who accessorized with two flags. Madonna had another lucky guy on her arm as she did interviews with Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci, the man behind her creative — and short — ensemble. Later, Madge stripped down to lingerie and a fishnet body stocking to attend the official Met Gala afterparty with Riccardo and Brahim. She capped off the wild night by holding court with Katy Perry, Frank Ocean, and a host of other fashion cool kids.

jeidee said:

She may realize that it is more lucrative to tour and that her fans are more willing to shell out that disposable income on huge tickets. I love her to death but I'd rather pay my rent for the month and wait for the DVD. I know people who have spent unthinkable amounts on tour merch, tickets, and the entire experience.

I want that acoustic/rock album - it'll never happen

Her mgr Guy Oseary has been pushing her to do a "Madonna unplugged" sounding album - i admit i'd love to hear her naked voice with some acoustic stuff, really simple stuff a la Dave Letterman "Dont Tell Me" in 2000...she'll have to do THAT version of that song, at least, on the farewell tour. i think that's as close as we'll get. ALL her albums are straight POP - with another influence strewn in (is strewn a word?) Like A Prayer - POP with gospel/soul and some simon/garfunkel singersongwriter/Beastles esque INFLUENCE Hard Candy - POP with a hip hop and 80s funk donna summer/influence american life POP with electro and acoustic influences from european scene...Like A Virgin was POP with a girl group/Motwon & 70s disco (Chic) INFLUENCE.... im sensing a pattern

UGH nightmare fuel :/ yuk Beyhova get away from Madge

this KILLS me hahaha:

the other night in Brooklyn,Madonna took her son Rocco to a Drake concert

55th Birthday party this summer