MADONNA IS BACK!

Madonna's manager Guy Oseary has posted an inspiring message from the Queen Of Pop herself today on his Twitter page. And it goes:

 

"Its official! I need to move. I need to sweat. I need to make new music! Music I can dance to. I'm on the look out for the maddest, sickest, most bad ass people to collaborate with."

 

The statement has later made its way the the news page of her official website, madonna.com

Hopefully more songs like Celebration then :w00t:

YEAH!. Hopefully she will un-earth a hot fresh new producer for her new sound.

Madonna 'can't wait' to record new album

 

Madonna's manager has revealed that she is ready to record a new studio album.

The singer, whose last release was 2008's Hard Candy, is said to be going back in the recording studio after she wraps up directing her latest film.

Responding to rumours that she will appear at the Grammys and release a concert DVD, the star's manager Guy Oseary tweeted: 'Madonna will not be at grammys.

'The update is that Madonna cant wait to get into the recording studio....This will happen as soon as she finishes the movie she directed...

 

Source: Twitter

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Live Nation hints on future of Madonna deal

Billboard.biz has recently published an article on Madonna's Live Nation deal, sprung off on Guy Oseary's recent quotes regarding "Madonna can't wait to get into the studio":

 

Asked if the Madonna album would come through Live Nation, Azoff responded, "Yes," meaning Madonna's album could be the first recorded content overseen by Live Nation. The Zac Brown Band's LP "The Foundation" was initially geared to be a Live Nation project in 2008, but the company folded its label division with the exit of then-chairman Michael Cohl and the record ended up on Atlantic.

 

After the Madonna deal, Live Nation subsequently announced long term multi-rights deals with such artists as U2 (which does not include recorded content), Shakira, Jay-Z and others. Still, it is likely Live Nation would partner with some other entity in releasing the record, as executives at the firm have stated repeatedly that they don't intend to enter the record business full-tilt.

 

"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," Azoff saod. "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."

 

All of the artists with whom Live Nation has secured long-term deals are doing well, particularly U2, currently on their record-shattering "360" tour. which will end up as the highest grossing tour of all time. Still, when asked if Live Nation would be cutting similar deals in the future, Azoff said, "No, we're not going to do multi-rights deals. But look at what's going on with our partners at Roc Nation and the kind of year that Jay-Z had. Shakira's touring has been really well-planned and has been incredibly successful this past year."

 

~ Which means nothing is concrete yet and Madonna's quote from last year about "not having a record deal" makes sense now, since Live Nation will only start planning when Madonna brings them the music so we might not see anything until late 2011...

 

So it was true when she said last year she doesn't have a record company at the moment.

Madonna's manager Guy Oseary has been quite talkative on his Twitter page today, answering many questions about the Queen of Pop's upcoming projects and releases.

 

Several questions focused on Madonna's classic tours to be released on DVD and Blu Ray, and here's what Guy had to say:

 

"i had a meeting with warner records last week to discuss the dvd's.. its a start.."

 

"I would like it as well.. i had my first meeting with warner records about it.. this will take time.. no promises.. we shall see."

 

" I never said no to releasing the dvds. I only said there were no plans for it.. I met with warner this last week to discuss it.."

 

"there are NO plans. We had our first meeting about dvd's, with the intention of making it happen, but this will take some time."

 

Another major topic was a Summer Tour this year:

 

"not this summer... we have to make an album first.. and as i said before, this will happen soon as she's done with the movie.."

 

"not this summer... need to make an album first!"

 

And of course some hints about Madonna's new album and collaborators:

 

"yes! soon as the movie is over... she is currently listening to new music.. and is very eager to make a new album!!!"

 

"most of the music madonna is liking for new album are from all unknown producers. from what she played me, the tracks sound amazing"

 

" I've always wanted to a madonna unplugged, the new album will be quite the opposite of unplugged. I have one word for you: DANCE"

 

"as i said, so far all the tracks being considered are from unknown producers.. but we are open to all and any great ideas.."

 

With a little info about the release of "W.E" as well:

 

"no information on movie release yet.. when we know, we will definitely tell everyone.."

So Madonna could be setting trends once again? :cheer: Sounds like this album will be amazing.

Yeah, that's very encouraging!!.

I think it could be like Confessions all over again i.e a huge buzz around her :cheer:

Yeah that was massive!.

Latest news on Malawi:

Madonna Malawi project leader lays out plans

 

Logistical problems and other concerns have led Madonna to abandon her plan to build a girls-only school in Malawi, but the new leader of her effort says the superstar instead plans many more schools with educational groups already working toward that goal.

 

"Basically, what we'd be doing is expanding the ability for a group of nonprofits to provide education to more kids," said Trevor Neilson in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday.

 

Neilson, a former executive with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, joins the Raising Malawi project as a partner of the Global Philanthropy Group, a leading international organization that works with organizations and governments around the globe.

 

He and several other experienced philanthropy experts became part of Raising Malawi's revamped team in November.

 

"Madonna increasingly began to have concerns about the effectiveness of the existing strategy and management team, and as a result has made sweeping changes in order to better serve more children in Malawi," he said.

 

The Kabbalah Centre, once a part of the project, is no longer involved, Neilson noted. Madonna has practiced Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, for years.

 

The bigger changes involve the scope of Madonna's educational plans in the impoverished African country. The superstar, who has adopted a boy and a girl from Malawi, had initially planned to build a school for girls, most of whom don't get the opportunity to go to school.

 

The school was to be on an approximately 117-acre plot of government land near the capital, Lilongwe. But soon after the location was announced, several local villagers claimed they owned the land and the government was forcing them off of it.

 

"Obviously, Raising Malawi didn't know anything about this, and was surprised, yet Raising Malawi paid those people over $130,000, which in Malawi is a lot of money," Neilson said.

 

Even after that, however, he said, Raising Malawi never got title to the land. In addition, Neilson said the school was being built in an area where there were not many children, and too much effort was being paid to the design of the building.

 

"Madonna was shocked to find out how much time and money had been spent on architecture," he said, though declining to give an exact estimate, simply saying, "too much!"

 

Instead of creating a Raising Malawi school, the new plan is to use Raising Malawi's resources to partner with other NGOs, or non-governmental organizations, already working to provide a better education in Malawi.

 

"Working in consultation with a series of non-profits and education efforts, we're looking at a new strategy that builds more schools, but embeds them in communities of Malawi where the students are," he said.

 

"Basically what we'd be doing is expanding the ability for a group of non-profits to provide education to more kids," he added.

 

Neilson said Raising Malawi has contacted its key donors and informed them of the change in strategy: "All of the major donors we've talked to are really excited about the strategy."

 

Neilson also added that contrary to reports, the charity is still working very closely with the government, and that Madonna called the president's office and explained her new plans.

 

New schools could be built by the end of this year, and the educational efforts, while geared toward girls, will not exclude boys, he said.

 

"The need is so broad that you don't want to come into a community and say, 'Sorry boys, you can't go to school,'" he said.

 

Neilson said Madonna would go to the region "soon" and stressed that she was still fiercely committed to the country: He said Raising Malawi has dispersed $13 million toward charitable efforts over the last few years.

 

"She's very frustrated that the project has not moved faster and has not reached children with these services in a faster way," he said. "Ultimately, that's all that matters, is that children go to school."

 

He said Madonna has also denounced Malawi's anti-gay measures, but said she would still work with the country to help the children. "I don't think that that is core to this project in any way."

 

Madonna.com

** Madonna is due to visit again in late march / early april and possibly with Bono this time!**

More on Malawi...

Madonna makes the right move in Malawi

 

Today we learned of a new strategy by Madonna in her desire to increase access to education in Malawi. As a sharp critic of her earlier plans for a large "academy style" school I welcome this move and hope it can be a point of reflection for many of us involved in the development process.

 

Defining Success

Working with communities is often a tricky and long road. In order to be sustainable it must respond to the needs of the community yet have a sound model in order to remain in existence long after the initial investment is made. Whether you are working internationally or domestically, if the end users are burdened with an overly built facility they are exposed to more financial risk then had you not intervened. Therefore success should not be defined by how good a building looks but how it is used and how it is loved. This can be best achieved by employing a community led development process.

 

The Values of Community Led Development

To inspire communities to build sustainably my group, now building in 22 countries, is guided by a participatory design process that defines the client as a complex ecology of stakeholders rather than a single owner or occupant.

 

In a traditional development model, building services and construction firms bid for projects. In this model the design process is "closed." Community members have little interaction with the design team during the design process and little personal connection to and investment in the resulting structures.

 

By contrast, participatory design, or community design as it is sometimes called, engages building stakeholders of all ages and walks of life. In the community design model, the design process is open. Stakeholders, be they community members, homeowners, parents, students, or government officials, are invited and encouraged to participate in the design process through planning sessions, hands-on workshops, exhibitions, community interventions. This creates a sense of ownership and pride and empowers community members to become active instigators of change in their community. This process allows the entire group to work collectively to overcome a series of typical challenges including;

 

?1. The removal of typical barriers to participation, such as formal hearings or inconvenient locations

 

?2. Greater communication between different sectors and interests in the community, including government organizations, religious organizations and individuals

 

?3. The prioritization of issues by and with those most affected by the decision-making process

 

?4. Resolution of complex land-tenure issues

 

?5. Mitigation against political instability by defining process and responsibilities

 

?6. The ability to convey complex ideas simply to expert and non-expert participants alike through the use of graphics, 3-D models and other visual presentations

 

?7. Environmentally and Culturally Appropriate Design

 

?8. Opportunities for skills training and advancement

 

?9. Creation of green collar jobs in the construction trades

 

?10. Greater local capacity for local leadership and future economic development

 

A good example of this is the recently completed Mahiga Hope High School and Rainwater court in Mahiga, Kenya. A collective of small nonprofits and community groups came together and built a holistic approach to education using small funds (less than $200,000) and invested in the community that was already there. The project took just over a year to complete but was done in the time frame of the community not the funders.

 

Investing in Reality

Rather than investing all your funds in one big complex, it is better to spread your investment to reach a broader impact. In the case of Raising Malawi the choice was one academy vs. upgrading dozens of appropriately sized existing schools that, in turn, can be replicated and scaled. It's a choice of supporting a few hundred children or to impact tens of thousands.

 

In an industry that only reports success, it is an incredibly admirable thing that Raising Malawi has open and come out and said 'we didn't get it right, we learned and we are adapting'. For every grand project profile there are thousands that disappear into the vapor leaving promised communities in the lurch. Lets hope this tale will reverberate through the philanthropic world and that millions are invested wisely and not in the creation of white elephants that dot the landscape.

 

From an article by Cameron Sinclair, Co-founder of Architecture for Humanity and the Open Architecture Network, on huffingtonpost.com

 

Beth Justifies her Love

 

While Lady Gaga is expressing her love for Madonna with "Born This Way," Gossip singer-gone-solo Beth Ditto pays apparent tribute to Madge with the music video for "I Wrote the Book", the first single from her eponymous solo EP.

 

Shot at London's swank Grosvenor House by director Price James, the black and white clip finds Ditto primping, being smothered by three male model types in various stages of undress, and dancing to the bubbly atmospherics and bangin' club beats courtesy of her collaborators from Simian Mobile Disco. It takes visual cues from Madonna's "Vogue" and "Justify My Love" clips (and a bit of "Erotica", too), and it works

From Spin.com