In recent years, a number of high-profile musicians have sold their song catalogs for million-dollar price tags. But one singer who vows to never sell the rights to her work is Madonna.
During an interview with Variety, Madonna explained why she never sees herself giving the rights away, even for a big pay day. "They're my songs. Ownership is everything isn't it?" she explained.
She doesn’t plan to just sit on her music, either, as Madonna is looking into new ways to share her work with the public. “[I’m looking into] interesting, fun ways […] [to] introduce my music to a new generation,” Madonna said.
"I want to go on tour again. I'm a creature of the stage. That is my happy place,” she added.
Recently, Sickkick released a remix of Madonna’s 1998 hit “Frozen” featuring Fireboy DML. The song was a hit (again) and began blowing up on TikTok. Madonna says it inspired her to breathe new life into all of her iconic music.
"It all happened by divine inspiration, I guess, because then once I heard them, I wanted to make more of them and do new versions of them that had different people singing on them and doing their take on it,” she told PEOPLE in May.
The following month, Madonna released a 16-track remix called Finally Enough Love. An extended version featuring 50 tracks will release in August.
Madonna may not be looking to offload her music catalog ever, but she could make a hefty profit if she ever changes her mind. For example, Bob Dylan is rumored to have made anywhere between $150 million to $200 million when he sold his song entire catalog in January.
"Columbia Records and Rob Stringer have been nothing but good to me for many, many years and a whole lot of records. I'm glad that all my recordings can stay where they belong," he said at the time.
Similarly, in May, Justin Timberlake made approximately $100 million by selling his music catalog to Hipgnosis Song Management. The deal included more than 200 songs that Justin wrote or co-wrote.
In a statement, Justin said he was looking forward to the “next chapter” of his career. "I am excited to be partnering with Merck and Hipgnosis," the “Sexy Back” singer said. "He [Mercuriadis] values artists and their creative work and has always been a strong supporter of songwriters and storytelling."
Other artists who’ve recently sold their song catalog include Bruce Springsteen, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and Sting.