In what the Hollywood Reporter is describing as one
of the richest record deals ever, the Boys have signed
a new deal with their label, Jive Records, that's
believed to be worth up to a whopping $60 million.
The five-album pact includes a hefty advance for the
follow-up to their current album, "Millennium," which
is due for release in September 2000.
The Hollywood Reporter also said the deal puts the 40
million-selling Backstreet Boys in the same lofty
company as the Rolling Stones, Prince and Michael
Jackson, giving them extensive artistic freedom and a
royalty rate of 20 percent, among the highest in the
recording industry.
Both band and label will work together on licensing
and marketing deals, and the group is finalizing plans
for a long-term sponsorship deal, the Hollywood
Reporter said. The new deal ends weeks of tension
between the two sides, with the Backstreet Boys most
recently threatening to leave the label.
The group's Canadian label, Zomba/Jive, declined to
comment on the new deal.
If the Backstreet Boys seemed unusually chipper
during their recent Canadian tour stops, there was a
good reason.
Other elements of the agreement, which is a reworking of
the group's previous deal with Jive, include a partnership
structure with the label. The band will have increased
creative control, as well as a say in the licensing and
marketing of its tracks, sources claim.
The first set under the agreement -- the follow-up to
"Millennium," which is certified for U.S. sales over 7
million copies -- is slated for release in September.
Backstreet Boys have sold more than 40 million copies of
their four albums worldwide.
The new partnership between the band and Jive ends a
contentious period for them both. Backstreet Boys publicly
threatened to bolt from the label last month amid
allegations that Jive was in breach of its contract with the
band. Tensions were fueled when Jive signed top-selling
group 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys' main competition in the
pop world.
Backstreet Boys, its management company the Firm, and
lawyers for both parties declined to comment on the new
deal. Jive Records could not be reached for comment.
Backstreet Boys have resigned
with Jive, ending a fierce
battle in which the
multiplatinum group
threatened to leave the label.
Sources tell The Hollywood
Reporter that the five-album
deal is valued at about $60 million and the band will
receive "superstar" royalty rates of over 20% for their
material.
This new deal puts the group in the same financial company as multimillion dollar
acts such as the Rolling Stones and Michael Jackson, who also receive royalties
in the 20% range.
The new deal ends a shaky period between the two parties; the Backstreet Boys
threatened to leave the label last month amid allegations that the label was in a
breach of contract with the group and the fact that the label signed the group's
main competition, 'N Sync.
The first project under this new deal will be the follow-up to the group's latest
album Millennium, scheduled for release in September 2000. Over the past four
years, the Backstreet Boys have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide,
making them the best selling act of 1999.
(11/12/99, 5 p.m. ET) - The Backstreet Boys have signed a new deal with their
record label, Jive, and it's one of the largest pacts ever. The five-album deal, valued
at approximately $60 million, gives the group a partnership structure with the label.
The group will get increased creative control, giving the group a say in the
licensing and marketing of their music, and they will receive royalties of more than
20% for their material.
The immensely popular group, still on their ''Millennium'' tour, will also
have a partnership agreement with the label, according to the
Hollywood Reporter. The group will reportedly have more say in how
its music is marketed and licensed, though its management is still
awaiting a statement from the group.
The blockbuster royalty rates will put them in the same league as the
Wu Tang Clan, Michael Jackson and Prince. While some industry
executives believe that artists royalties peaked a decade ago, there
are still a handful of groups which are use their selling power as
ammunition in contract negotiations.
The lucrative deal keeps the group firmly on the road of financial
success, while rival teen-pop group 'N Sync faces an uncertain future.
'N Sync recently signed with Jive Records, but is being sued by its former label RCA and North
American distributor BMG for breach of contract. The legal tangle places in jeopardy the group's
already recorded, but unreleased, second album.
Jive will release the Boys' fifth album in September, 2000. The title has not been chosen yet,
according to the group's management.
Two Backstreet Boys members, Brian Littrell and A.J. McLean, will have cameos in a romantic
comedy to be filmed next week in Mount Dora and Orlando, Fla. Called ''Olive Juice,'' the film is
about a young woman who falls in love with a pet shop owner.
Backstreet Boys have re-signed with Jive Records for a reported $60 million, five-record deal that
will give them 20% royalty rates. The deal comes just a month after the band reportedly
threatened to leave the label.