Lance Bass has detailed just how little he says he earned during *NSYNC’s rise, claiming he was paid a per diem of $35 a day while the group was one of the biggest acts in the world.
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Speaking on The Zach Sang Show, the 47-year-old singer said the money didn’t match the band’s success. “We had a per diem: $35 a day,” Bass said. “Our first check was a $10,000 check after years of No. 1 albums, sellout tours. I don’t know how many millions I made off of merchandise, because merchandise was insane.” He recalled being told to be grateful for the $10,000: “You should be grateful for that. You’ve been working for free for two, three years now.”
Bass — who rose to fame alongside Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone — pushed back on the perception that the group made him wealthy. “People think I’m so filthy rich from *NSYNC, but no,” he said. “Not at all. I didn’t make money with *NSYNC, like, hardly at all.” He said he still receives residuals, but “it’s not much,” and that he earned far more after the band went on hiatus in 2002.
He alleged that the bulk of the money went elsewhere, claiming “the label” and the group’s late manager, Lou Pearlman, “made a f–k ton.” Pearlman, the impresario behind *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys, was convicted in 2008 of money laundering, conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud in connection with a long-running Ponzi scheme; he died in prison in 2016.
Asked whether he still carried resentment, Bass said “not anymore,” though he maintained he had been shortchanged. “No one set us up for life after that,” he said.
The claims stand in stark contrast to *NSYNC’s commercial record. The group remains one of the best-selling acts in Billboard history: their 2000 album No Strings Attached sold a then-record 2.4 million copies in its first week — a mark that stood for 15 years — and spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single “Bye Bye Bye” became a signature hit, and the follow-up “It’s Gonna Be Me” gave the group its only Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 that summer. Their 2001 album Celebrity also debuted at No. 1, while the No Strings Attached tour grossed more than $70 million. *NSYNC reunited briefly for a new single, “Better Place,” in 2023.
It isn’t the first time Bass has spoken about the band’s finances. “We were famous, but we were not rich,” he said during a 2023 appearance on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show.
