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Mariah Carey Exits Virgin Records With $28 Million Payoff
01/23/2002 12:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Kastle
(1/23/02, 12 p.m. ET) --
It's official--pop diva Mariah Carey has been let go by her record label, EMI's Virgin Records, with a $28 million payoff. Carey and EMI confirmed the move in a joint statement that followed weeks of speculation. The settlement ends Carey's multi-album, multimillion-dollar international recording contract, with a $28 million payout to the singer. She also gets to retain the $21 million previously paid to her when the contract was forged in April 2001.
Various media reports had estimated the full value of Carey's Virgin contract at between $80 million and $100 million. Carey's first album for Virgin, Glitter, was not as well received as her previous efforts, selling just two million copies worldwide. EMI made the decision to drop Carey in an attempt to cut costs at a time when overall music sales have dropped considerably. Carey said of her exit, "This is the right decision for me. I look forward to the many new and exciting opportunities, which have now been presented to me. I wish Virgin well."
Alain Levy, new chairman and CEO of EMI Recorded Music, added, "We have decided that this is the most prudent course of action for EMI. We wish Mariah the best." Carey was the top-selling female pop artist of the 1990s, and she has sold more than 150 million albums and singles worldwide, and earned 84 Recording Industry Association Of America gold, platinum, and multiplatinum certifications. Carey is scheduled to sing the national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on February 3, and she will be accompanied by the Boston Pops.
-- Jason Gelman, New York
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