On Dirty Pop: The boyband scam

 


I grew up listening to Westlife and Backstreet Boys courtesy of my siblings. Which is why it was really surprising to me that I never was a 1direction fan, neither did I become a kpop boy group fan.

That's not the point of this update. The point is to imagine being the person that made Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC, and only 5 people came to your burial. Only 5 people.

Why you might ask? Nothing you haven't guessed. Lou Pearlman was a sleazy businessman who was fronting Ponzi scheme behind all the record labels and boy bands he signed. This Ponzi went on for like 30+ years. Up to 500 million dollars ripped off people. Thank God, it came crashing down. Literally went from fame, and influence, to dying a disgraced fellow. 

And the worst part of it, these boy bands were not even enjoying. At the peak of their career, they were being paid around $50,000 a year. Note, these were kids signed before they were adults so of course, they didn't know better before signing these contracts. It's terrible really. Absolutely terrible


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