Janet Jackson will sign a four-album contract with Virgin

Records today worth about $80 million, which is a cool $20 mil more than the

one her fading (in popularity) big brother signed with Sony some years back.

It's also bigger than previous hyped deals made by Madonna and Prince. Janet,

who is just 29, was the subject of a bidding war that included offers from

Disney's Michael Ovitz, Sony, PolyGram, Bertelsmann, Time Warner and

DreamWorks. Only Virgin, the label Janet recorded her most recent albums for,

remained at the table. The new deal includes four new studio albums plus a

greatest hits album, according to the L. A. Times. The Times also

says that Janet will receive $35 mil upon signing and another $5 mil each time

she delivers a new album. And Virgin is required to allocate $25 million for

video production, marketing and promotion. That's a lot.