Madonna is half a century old today. The material girl has become a material matriarch.
The most famous female pop star in the world will start her Sticky & Sweet tour in Wales next week.Being a popstar is secondary to her real job as a businesswoman. Madonna is one of the savviest businesspersons in the world. In the last year, she severed ties with her long-time label Warner and signed up for what is referred to as a 360 deal with Live Nation.
Her new deal grossed her an instant $120 million and for that Live Nation will have rights to all of her tours, merchandise and recording.
Madonna has always been a barometer of public tastes and knows exactly how to push the envelope.
She plays the “shock” card with her audience, by using sex to shock them and then when they are convinced she is a slut, pulls right back and plays the mother card. The Madonna media manipulation is legendary. She shocks by doing the complete opposite of what people expect her to do.
It is a pretty simple formula. Just juggle sex, religion and the family and you are always in the newspapers.
And what a media mole she is. Madonna is an expert at dropping rumours and then having her bulldog Liz Rosenberg deny them. Once again, it keeps her name in the public eye.
Madonna learned how to play the controversy card at the start of her career when she had hit with `Like A Virgin`. It worked wonderfully. She then played the religion card with `Like A Prayer`. More press.
Mind you, sometimes she has not read the audience. She miscalculated the impact of her anti-Bush sentiment on the American Life album. She had the right message, but at the wrong time.
Her movie Swept Away was a major mistake as well. Right now, he current alleged affair with sportsman A-Rod in America is not giving her the press she wants, but that was nothing another planted story about another African baby won`t solve.
Happy birthday Madonna, you play the game well.
