Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Exclusive: Madonna New Album Headed to Universal

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Madonna‘s next album will not be back on Warner Music. That ship has sailed. I am told by a Warner source that the understanding now is Madonna’s new album will come out under the Universal Music Group umbrella. Madonna plans to debut at least one new track from the as yet unnamed collection at the Super Bowl in early February. She’s been working with several producers including William Orbit and Martin Solveig, the guy behind the insufferably cute dance hit, “Hello.” UMG is the likely place for the album anyway. Madonna left Warners two years ago. She made a deal with Live Nation that included CDs. But like U2, Madonna must still find someone who can actually release the album and distribute it. EMI, teetering on the brink, is out of the question. And it’s unlikely Sony has the money or patience to deal with her. Madonna’s Universal deal sounds like a Jimmy Iovine special, one that includes the Material Girl debuting more tracks on “American Idol.” Madonna’s last album of new material, “Hard Candy” was released on April 25, 2008. She left WMG for a $120 million deal with Live Nation in October 2007.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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