Saturday, September 05, 2009 LOS ANGELES: Madonna smashed her own record for top-grossing tour by a solo artist, but the "Material Girl" had to play more shows in bigger venues, according to data released by concert promoter.The pop singer's yearlong "Sticky & Sweet" world tour, which wrapped in Israel on Wednesday, pulled in $408 million after playing to more than 3.5 million fans at 85 shows.It broke the record set in 2006 by her previous outing, the "Confessions" tour, which grossed $194 million from 1.2 million fans at 60 shows. A promoter spokesman said the previous trek featured many arena stops, while the latest one was centered on bigger stadiums.On September 28, Madonna will release "Celebration" CD and video compilations, which will draw the curtain on her 27-year relationship with Warner Music Group Corp. In 2007, she signed a pioneering, 10-year, $120 million "360" deal with Live Nation covering recording, merchandising and touring.The top-grossing tour overall is the Rolling Stones' $558 million "Bigger Bang" trek of 2005-2007, which drew 4.7 million people to 144 shows.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
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