“Industry rule # 4080, record company people are shady!”, those are the words of A-Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip in “Check the Rhime”. In this YouTube Original documentary, former members of various boy/girl bands, including The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, talk about their experiences with businessman Lou Pearlman. After years of working in the aircraft industry, he was inspired by the success of New Kids on the Block to also enter the music industry. He set up a record label and started a talent search to put together his first band, The Backstreet Boys. He provided shelter, dance lessons and everything the boys needed and spent a lot of time with them until their breakthrough. He was seen by the members of the band as a kind of father figure, a story that other groups tell as well. Yet Pearlman turned out to be a man with two faces. That became clear when bands were already a huge success, had sold millions of records, but the first check they received turned out to be even less than the minimum wage. In addition, it appeared that their mentor had also made themselves a member of the band and as a result managed to earn even more money.
It is a trick he repeated and he continued to start new bands such as O-Town, LFO, Take 5 and Innosense. The documentary focuses primarily on Backstreet and *NSYNC, but also members of these other groups share negative stories about Pearlman, including sexual misconduct. The only exception is Aaron Carter, who gets very emotional about the question of whether improper actions were taken by Pearlman. He fully defends Pearlman, while others have a very clear story about their experiences. In addition to his bands, Pearlman also managed to steal money from investors, who also speak here and let them know what their experiences were. The Boy Band Con paints an all but positive picture of one of the most successful boy band managers, who eventually ran got into trouble and ended up in jail. A fascinating story, even if you are not a fan of boy bands at all.
[score8]