The $60-Million Multimedia Woman : Entertainment: Barbra Streisand is set to join Michael Jackson and other big-name performers with a mega-buck film and recording contract.

Barbra Streisand is expected to join the entertainment industry’s mega-deal bandwagon this week by signing a film and recording contract with Sony Corp. worth a potential $60 million.

The agreement--which could be announced as early as Tuesday--reportedly rivals recent multimedia pacts struck by Michael Jackson and Madonna.

The signing is the latest in a string of mega-buck pacts triggered in March, 1991 by Janet Jackson’s estimated $40-million deal with Virgin Records. Sony signed an estimated $60-million contract with Jackson’s brother Michael two weeks later. This year, Prince and Madonna have both signed $60-million-plus deals with Time Warner.

Reaction in entertainment circles to the agreement was positive.

“An artist like Barbra Streisand comes along once in a generation, so you hold on to her,” said Al Teller, chairman of MCA Music Entertainment Group, who worked with Streisand during his tenure as president of CBS Records during the mid-1980s.

“She’s an utter perfectionist who has very strong beliefs in what she should be doing and, frankly, her instincts are remarkably good.”

“Nobody in the industry perceives this deal as a vanity sacrifice on Sony’s part,” said entertainment attorney Peter Dekom, whose client list includes Lucas Films. “Few artists have a proven track record that they can sing, act, write, direct and produce. Barbra is a multiple threat in every category.”

“There are few entertainers who ever create an audience demand across both the music and film entertainment spectrum the way that Barbra does,” said Irving Azoff, chairman of Time Warner-affiliated Giant Records. “Barbra typifies taste and elegance, not only commercial success.”

Representatives for Streisand and Sony refused to discuss specifics of the pact, which was negotiated by a team of Sony executives including Michael Schulhof and Peter Guber, Streisand manager Martin Erlichman and several entertainment attorneys, including Lee Phillips.

But sources said Sony will pay Streisand about $2 million a year for an estimated10 years to develop projects exclusively for Sony Pictures through her two-decade-old production company, Barwood Films.

The money will be used to hire writers and executives to create film properties that the 50-year-old entertainer will either direct, act in or produce. She is not required to deliver any specific number of movies but, given Streisand’s previous track record, the deal should encompass at least two film productions.

If Sony-owned Columbia Pictures agrees to develop a script, sources said that Streisand could be paid as much as a $3 million advance against adjusted gross percentages for each movie that she directs. That’s about the same amount a director such as Alan Parker (whose credits include “The Commitments,” “Mississippi Burning” and “Midnight Express”) would receive, but only about half as much as superstar directors Steven Spielberg or Ron Howard.

Several industry insiders, however, questioned whether Streisand would be chosen--at this stage of her career--to direct a film in which she did not star.

“She is not really a stand-alone director as of yet,” said one key player. “It’s highly unlikely that a studio looking for someone to direct a film with, say, Jack Nicholson in it, would immediately think of hiring Barbra Streisand. They would be more inclined to employ someone more established whose career is based on directing.”

Streisand will also reportedly receive at least a $4 million advance against 10% of gross revenues for every movie in which she acts--on par with, say, Bette Midler, but only about a third as much as superstars like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nicholson. Sources said Sony will also pay Streisand as much as an additional $1 million for each picture she produces.

Over the past 30 years, Streisand has been honored with Oscars, Tonys, Emmys and Golden Globes, and has starred in 15 films--two of which she directed, 1983’s “Yentl” and last year’s “The Prince of Tides.” The latter has grossed more than four times its estimated $27 million cost, not including video rentals.

Under the recording components of the deal, the Grammy-winning singer will be guaranteed an estimated $5 million advance per album plus a blue-chip 42% royalty rate on the wholesale price of each unit sold--or approximately $2.90 per record, sources speculated.

Streisand has long been rumored to maintain a “favorite nations” clause in her contract with Sony-owned CBS Records that is supposed to guarantee her a royalty rate that exceeds any other artist on the company’s roster. But insiders said it is unlikely that her new royalty rate will reap more per album than Sony star Michael Jackson receives from his domestic sales.

Streisand’s new contract reportedly covers six albums, including two already owed the company under the singer’s old agreement with the label.

Arista Records president Clive Davis, who worked with Streisand during his tenure as chief of CBS Records in the 1970s, said her credentials as a pop artist are virtually unparalleled: “From a career-in-contemporary-music point of view, I would rank the vocals of Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin as this country’s two greatest natural resources.”

Sony will continue to maintain distribution rights to Streisand’s lucrative 37-album catalogue, which has accounted for more than 60 million album sales since 1964.

The company will deduct all cash advances from Streisand’s portion of the royalties until they are paid off over the course of the next 10 years.

While few in the industry expect Streisand’s sales punch to compete with current hitmakers such as Garth Brooks or Michael Bolton, most observers believe she still has strong sales potential.

“When an artist crosses over to a certain point, they go beyond the mere superstar status,” said Allen Grubman, the New York entertainment attorney who negotiated mega-deals for Madonna and Jackson. “Like Bob Dylan and Madonna, Barbra Streisand is a legend. Stars of their caliber have really contributed significantly to the growth and value of these multinational entertainment companies and it’s wonderful to see her achievements being recognized and acknowledged.”