By Dean Goodman
08.27.96
Reuters New Media
The four members of R.E.M. took just four days last week to make the biggest financial decision of their career when they signed a contract reportedly worth more than $80 million with their current label, Warner Bros. Records.
This time a year ago, however, it seemed as if R.E.M’s fruitful relationship with [...]
By Rich Copley
08.27.96
Athens Daily News
While the question of which record company R.E.M. would sign with tantalized rock fans and press for months, it only occupied about three weeks of the musicians’ time - and now they’re happy to get back to the music.
“It’s basically something that’s been on the back burner for a long period [...]
By Caroline Davies and John Hiscock
08.27.96
The Telegraph
R.E.M. has signed a £51.6 million deal with Warner Brothers Records - the biggest contract in the music industry to date.
The quartet, from Athens, Georgia, become the highest paid stars in the business, eclipsing Janet Jackson, the sister of Michael Jackson, who signed a £45 million contract with Virgin [...]
08.26.96
Wall Of Sound
According to the Los Angeles Times, R.E.M. signed a new $80-million, five-album contract with Warner Bros. Records on Saturday — the largest recording contract in history — thus ending an aggressive bidding war that began when the Georgia-based band completed New Adventures In Hi-Fi, the last album in its previous six-album Warner contract. [...]