Madonna has apparently signed a deal with secondary market ticket sellers StubHub and Viagogo. Why is this news? Well, because it’s the first time in the history of the universe that a major artist has had a formal agreement in place with the secondary ticket market.

John Wilson has an interesting write-up on his blog about the meaning of the deal.

Having sold her touring rights to LiveNation last year, this represents a major endorsement of secondary markets by one of the world’s largest promoters and blows a hole through the “moral” arguments that were advanced by some parts of the live music industry, who condemned such market as scalping or touting. Similarly, it leaves the recently formed industry association that was advocating a revenue tax on secondary markets completely wrong footed.

I’ve already heard it said that Madonna is an exceptional case and most artists won’t be able to negotiate the same deals with secondary market operators, but this applies equally to the situation most artists face with promoters who underwrite tours [primary market].

By the sound of things, this is a good deal for the artist (and the cottage industries that support them) and the fans who want to go to gigs. The artist taps into a new revenue stream, and the fans get a guarantee of authenticity, meaning they don’t turn up at the show and get turned away because of invalid tickets.

And having read this Telegraph article on the news, you have to wonder if artists partnering with sites like StubHub and Viagogo will severely cripple the market for touts and scalpers?