R.E.M.'s 1996 Warner Bros. recording contract was reported at how much?

R.E.M.’s 1996 Warner Bros. recording contract was reported at US$80 million.

The band re-signed with Warner Bros. in 1996 after becoming one of alternative rock’s biggest acts. The widely reported figure was US$80 million, and it was described at the time as the most expensive recording contract ever reported.

The figure should be treated as a reported industry amount rather than an uncontested accounting total. R.E.M. repeatedly maintained that the media originated the $80 million number, illustrating how large music-business deals can be reported differently depending on guarantees, albums, options, and accounting definitions.

Earlier Warner Bros. negotiations are sometimes confused with this later renewal. R.E.M. had originally signed with the label in the late 1980s, but the headline-making $80 million figure belongs to the 1996 re-signing. The same period produced New Adventures in Hi-Fi.