Basically, The Best News Ever

So, as you all know by now, Madonna and Warner Music group announced their new partnership regarding her back catalog last week. This was seriously the most exciting news to wake up to on August 16th, Madonna’s birthday. Finally, Madonna’s back catalog will be getting the treatment it deserves (…hopefully! If all goes according to the info in the press release). I know WB was kind of messing things up a lot towards the end of Madonna’s original tenure with them, but at the end of the day, WB feels like home. Madonna just belongs there. The most exciting bit of news for collectors is that a multi-year series of reissues will begin launching next year, just in time for Madonna’s 40th anniversary since her debut single, “Everybody”. This is literally what we have all been waiting for!

So what exactly can we expect here? Well, according to the article, “Madonna will personally curate expansive deluxe editions for many of her landmark albums, as well as introduce unique releases for special events, and much more.” First of all, it’s surprising that Madonna would want to be involved, given that she rarely ever looks back on her career, and her last 2 greatest hits albums were basically thrown-together with very little thought. But, she has been doing a lot of research on her career lately for her upcoming biopic, so it kind of makes sense. The wording also calls out that the expansive deluxe editions will be for many of her albums, but not all. So if I had to guess, I’d say that they will probably reissue all of her albums as standard editions, probably on vinyl and CD (maybe with variations on colored vinyl), but the really big deluxe box sets will be reserved for her most iconic albums (Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like A Prayer, Ray of Light…) As you all know, a 35th Anniversary digital edition of True Blue was released recently which included bonus remixes. The hope from all fans is that the new deluxe editions will include rare and previously unreleased songs and demos, and not just remixes. We’ll just have to wait and see. If the recent Prince box sets are anything to go by, these new Madonna sets will be EPIC. Madonna’s 3 latest albums, MDNA, Rebel Heart and Madame X will also join the WB family starting in 2025, so I think we can expect some kind of reissues for those then as well. Interestingly, there was no mention of what would happen with any future new albums, or when we can expect any new music from Madonna. The really mysterious part is what they mention as “Unique releases for special events”, which could be almost anything. Maybe more Record Store Day releases? Limited exclusive releases for anniversaries? This is all so exciting and I can’t wait until the first edition is announced (supposedly, it’s soon)!

After seeing many lesser artists have their albums and back catalogs get the full deluxe treatment, finally, it’s Madonna and her fans’ turn! Madonna is the most successful, best-selling, influential and iconic female pop star of all-time. Finally, her legacy is starting to get the attention it deserves. Let’s hope they do it justice!