Madonna has signed a three-album deal with Interscope that is worth a reported $1 million per album. She is already under contract with Live Nation for all aspects of her career in a deal she signed back in 2007 for a reported $100 million.

While Live Nation is in charge of her touring, merchandising, branding, etc., they early on decided that they would partner with another firm for the recording portion of the singer's career. It is expected that the Interscope deal will include full cooperation in strategizing with Live Nation.

Irving Azoff, CEO of Live Nation, said "Live Nation, prior to the merger, entered into some of these all-rights deals, so there are certain artists, Madonna being one of them, that there is a recorded music strategy. Once she gets the album recorded, we'll sit down with her and her manager Guy Oseary and figure out what's best for the record. It has to start with the music."

The album, expected in the early part of the year, will be the first for Madonna not released under the Warner Brothers banner.