On July 20 2015, Madonna announced that Diplo would be the opening act for the launch of her Rebel Heart Tour on September 9 and 10th at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec:
“To have Diplo open for me is my dream come true. Montreal is about to TURN UP!!!! We Go Hard or We Go Home!”
With Madonna, Diplo produced and co-wrote the songs Living For Love, Bitch I’m Madonna, Unapologetic Bitch, Veni Vidi Vici, Best Night and Hold Tight.
On July 9 2015, Adi Lederman was sentenced to 14 months in prison for hacking Madonna’s song library and leaking early demos from her yet-to-be-released Rebel Heart album.
Under a plea bargain, Lederman confessed to computer trespassing and infringement of privacy and property rights. Lederman was fined 15,000 shekels ($4,000 US dollars), in addition to his prison sentence.
The court released this statement:
“The ease with which crimes such as this can be committed by those who have skills in the field, such as the accused, require an appropriate punitive response that has a deterrent and uncompromising message.”
Madonna said the crime was an “invasion into my life – creatively, professionally and personally remains a deeply devastating and hurtful experience“.
On July 3 2015, the third single off Madonna’s Rebel Heart album, Bitch I’m Madonna, climbed eight spots on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart to #7 in the USA. The hit dance song remained the Greatest Gainer for the second week in a row.
Thank you Justin for the great artwork above! – Jay
On June 23 2015, Liz Rosenberg announced her retirement as Madonna’s publicist.
During Madonna’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Madonna thanked Liz in her acceptance speech:
“She’s been — and still is — the head of publicity for my entire career. Now, does anybody understand the insanity of being my publicist for the last 25 years? Well, I think Liz was smoking a joint when I first met her. I walked into her office and she very politely stubbed it out in the ashtray. I don’t think she thought I knew she was smoking a joint but it was a little bit obvious. Anyway, we hit it off right away. She was my kinda girl — tough, irreverent and funny. And we’ve had a long and amazing chunk of time together.”
On June 4 2015, the first batch of remixes for the single Bitch I’m Madonna were released:
Oscar G previously remixed Madonna’s cover of Fever back in 1993. Sander Kleinenberg was commissioned to produce remixes of Hollywood in 2003, although his mixes remained shelved until they surfaced on the internet in 2010. Clearly Madonna was more fond of Kleinenberg’s treatment of Bitch I’m Madonna, as it was featured in her first official remix video since leaving Warner Bros. Records.
On May 27 2015, Forbes magazine announced that Madonna topped the annual list of top-earning musicians and also claimed the No. 28 spot on their list of America’s richest self-made women.
Here’s what Forbes had to say:
The wealthiest musician on the list, Madonna has an estimated net worth of $520 million, with her main source being from music, clothing, and real estate One of the top pop divas of all time. Her tours have grossed an estimated $1.2 billion over the years, including $305 million from her 2012 MDNA tour. That helped her earn an estimated $125 million during the ensuing 12-month period during which Forbes calculated celebrity earnings, more than any other musician. Look for another bump when she goes on the road with her latest album, Rebel Heart, in August.
On May 20 2015, Madonna acknowledged David Letterman’s retirement on Twitter:
@letterman Awww Dave I’m gonna miss you! Where am i gonna go on T.V. When I wanna say the F word? do you still have my panties???? this ❤#rebelheart loves you! – Madonna
Today In Madonna History 