Madonna’s New Deal

Madonna’s made headlines for inking big deals – most recently, her $120 million, 360 deal with Live Nation in 2007.

So, following the announcement of a new three-album contract with Interscope, one would be safe to guess the Material Mom scored a hefty chunk of change, right?

Wrong.

In a surprising turn of events, Interscope has signed Madonna to a contract with a base of $1 million per album, a source reportedly close to the matter told the New York Post.

“It’s just about keeping relevance so that she can tour,” the source said. “She is still in the demo phase, but the idea is to get the first album out next year.”

Although LN’s widely reported 360 deals were originally expected to cover new studio albums, touring and merchandising, among other things, the company eventually explained it had never planned to distribute records in-house, and would outsource to labels.

Cue Interscope. The Wall Street Journal’s “All Things Digital” blog noted that for a very reasonable contract, the label “gets bragging rights and one of the music industry’s few living worldwide icons, for what amounts to walking-around money.”

In return, Madge, who hasn’t released an album in five years, gets help marketing new material and has a chance to earn royalties if her albums prove successful.

Time will tell. Madonna is scheduled to perform at the upcoming Bridgestone Halftime Superbowl appearance Feb. 5 and her new album drops in late March.