Do the Backstreet Boys have another five albums in them? Their record label is betting $60 million that they do.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jive Records signed the Orlando quintet to a $60 million, five-album deal, including a large advance for the band's next album.
The new deal quashes the problems between the band and label that recently surfaced. Backstreet Boys attorneys recently sent a letter to Jive founder Clive Calder, claiming that the label was in breach of contract, and stating that the band was no longer part of the Jive team. The action was taken in response to the controversial Jive signing of Backstreet Boys rivals 'N Sync. Both the Boys and 'N Sync were created by Trans Continental media mogul Louis Pearlman, and both groups have gone to the courts to seek liberation from their former mentor. Though legal matters between the Backstreets and Pearlman are settled, 'N Sync and Jive face a $150 million lawsuit, and 'N Sync has countersued Pearlman for more than $25 million.
In any case, the Backstreets don't have much to worry about. The new deal, however, provides the Boys with plenty of financial stability, including royalties of as much as 20 percent, as well as involvement in both licensing and marketing strategies, and creative control over their projects.
The Backstreet Boys' latest album, Millennium, has sold almost seven million copies in the U.S. alone, and is a lock to be the top-selling album of the year. The next record is tentatively scheduled for a September 2000 release.
