So What Can the Others Expect?

What if Madonna or Guns N’ Roses or Prince or Vanilla Ice were suddenly freed from their existing contracts? How much could they command on the open market for a three-album deal?

Not including video fees, here is what attorneys privately estimated that those stars could expect to be guaranteed for a three-album deal:

* Madonna and Guns N’ Roses: $35-$40 million--the new going rate for select superstars, exclusive of film tie-ins like Michael Jackson’s.

* Prince: $30 million. He’s a notch lower because he’s inconsistent commercially. “If he gives you three albums, a company isn’t going to know whether they are getting three blockbusters like ‘Purple Rain’ or three duds like ‘Graffiti Bridge’--or some combination,” says one attorney.

* Bruce Springsteen: $25 million. There’s no debate over Springsteen’s artistry, but he’s viewed as an even greater risk than Prince at this stage in his career. Will he aim for another “Born in the U.S.A.” phenomenon or a darker, less accessible “Nebraska”?

* Vanilla Ice: $10 million. He’d pick up this much off the momentum of his best-selling debut, but how long before he melts?