Pop star Madonna is close to leaving her long-time Warner Bros. Records label for a wide-ranging $120 million deal with concert promotion firm Live Nation Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Wednesday, of what it described as a "virtually unprecedented" deal.

The decade-long pact with Live Nation would see Madonna cement her status as the world's highest paid female singer, the report said.

The pact would give Madonna a mix of cash and stock in exchange for the rights to sell three studio albums, promote concert tours, sell merchandise and license her name, the paper said.

Madonna, 49, has recorded for the Warner Music Group Corp.-owned label her entire career, stretching back to her 1983 self-titled debut album.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the matter, said Wednesday that Madonna's management told Warner last week that she would accept Live Nation's offer after the record company refused to match the deal.

Madonna's last contract with the New York-based company calls for her to deliver one studio album and a greatest hits record.

The report added that record labels were clamoring to sign artists on similar deals as the music world adjusts to the new realities of the digital download revolution, which has led to plunging sales of CDs.

It said that in the past headline acts like Madonna would release new work through a major label before brokering separate deals for touring and merchandising with specialist companies.

Increasingly however, music industry players are seeking to secure wide-ranging deals that allow them to tap into multiple revenue streams, such as endorsement deals, concert ticketing and merchandising.

Since the release of her 1982 debut single "Everybody," Madonna has become one of the most successful female singers in history, releasing a string of chart-topping albums and singles.

According to recent figures her album sales alone have topped more than 200 million while her most recent world tour, 2006's "Confessions Tour," was the highest-earning tour by a female artist.

Madonna is widely regarded as the world's highest-earning female singer while Forbes magazine estimated her worth at 325 million dollars, in its ranking of the wealthiest women in entertainment, behind chat-show queen Oprah Winfrey, "Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling and lifestyle guru Martha Stewart.

A Live Nation spokesman declined comment. Publicists for both Warner Music and Madonna did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Source: Wall Street Journal