Backstreet signs $60 million deal


If the Backstreet Boys seemed unusually chipper during their recent Canadian tour stops, there was a good reason.

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.


Backstreet Boys Sign New Deal With Jive


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.

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 Snag New Label Deal


(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.

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.

Backstreet Boys Pave Golden Road In New Deal With Jive Records


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.

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.

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