September 18, 2000 // Music was released in the United Kingdom, by Maverick Records.

Music was released September 18, 2000 in the United Kingdom, by Maverick Records. It was released worldwide on September 19, 2000, under Maverick, and distributed by Warner Bros Records. 

At the same time, it was released as a limited edition which contained a 24-page booklet about the album, a brooch copper with the album's logo and two stickers, wrapped in a linen cloth available in four different colors.

The Japanese edition was published on September 15, 2000, and contained two bonus tracks: "American Pie" and "Cyber-raga". 

On August 22, 2000, just a month before the album's official release, all tracks from Music were leaked online through Napster. In 2001, following Metallica v. Napster, Inc. lawsuit, Napster promised to block all songs from the album still available on the service.

Following the release of "American Pie", Madonna decided to use her new country style during her public appearances for Music's promotion; it included jeans, shirts and cowboy hats.  On her next tour in 2001, Madonna included a segment based entirely on this ambient. Meanwhile, Fouz-Hernández explained that "in this appearance Madonna may be parodying and criticizing Country, which symbolizes among other things, the supremacy of the white man, the ambition of the European pioneers and the American Dream. However, we do not realize that while recognizing the importance that the country has in American popular culture, and joins a long list of artists who have done this previously.  Despite this, the cowgirl image of Madonna has become one of its most recognized reinventions.

 Madonna's cover version of Don McLean's "American Pie" (1971) from The Next Best Thing was added as a bonus track on Music, except in the United States and Canada. Madonna commented that "It was something a certain record company executive twisted my arm into doing, but it didn't belong on the [Music] album".  Also, users who downloaded the album using Apple's QuickTime application had exclusive access to two remixes of "Music". The edition published in Mexico contains as bonus tracks "Lo Que Siente La Mujer", a Spanish version of "What It Feels Like for a Girl" and a remix of the same song by the group Above & Beyond. For the Drowned World Tour, it was released as a special edition with a bonus CD with remixes and the video of "What It Feels Like for a Girl".

For the artwork for Music, Madonna wore a blue shirt, jeans, red boots and a blue cowboy hat. In it, she faces the camera, while in the background a car and a gas station are seen. The country was a constant theme throughout the design, as the album's title, which was a logo that simulated a buckle, showing the silhouette of a cowboy while riding a horse and a yellow background; the bright colors give a sharp contrast compared to the photograph. Photo sessions were conducted by Jean Baptiste Mondino, who had worked with the singer previously on other photo sessions and music videos. According to Fouz-Hernández, the artwork is "a complete celebration to the field" western United States, He also added that it "is camp, notably Madonna's combination of Western clothing with expensive shoes and bright red high heels. In particular, there is a clear evocation of Judy Garland - a major gay icon - in the artwork". The photographs were shot in Los Angeles, California, between April 10–13, 2000. In an interview, Mondino said that he was the one who had the idea of the western themes for the album, and also stated: "[Madonna] wasn't sure at first, but I told her that if she didn't like it I won't charge her. But she loved the final result!". The art direction and designs for the album were done by Kevin Reagan.