Linkin Park, Warner Ink Deal

The multiplatinum rap-metal band Linkin Park has renegotiated its contract with Warner Music Group, ending eight months of dickering that unsteadied the recording company’s initial public offering in May.

Under the new deal, Linkin Park will receive about $15 million for its next album, plus a royalty rate of about 20%, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. In return, Warner retains rights to the band’s next four albums and gains an option for a fifth record.

In May, a week before Warner Music went public, Linkin Park’s management company, the Firm, released a statement saying the six-member group had become “increasingly concerned” that Warner Music’s “diminished resources will leave it unable to compete in today’s global music marketplace.” The band demanded to be released from its contract.

At the time, Warner dismissed the statement as a ploy to strengthen the band’s position in continuing contract renegotiations. Sources close to Warner had said that the group was demanding $60 million and that the record label was offering $15 million. Other sources close to the band disputed those figures, and said the group’s expressions of concern were genuine.

But those worries were apparently assuaged this week. Sources familiar with the negotiations said the new contract was similar to the deal Warner proposed last May. Other sources disputed that claim, but declined to provide specifics on what had changed.

Linkin Park has released five albums with Warner, selling more than 18 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. Warner Music’s public offering raised $554 million, about $100 million less than the company had hoped.