In the June edition of Billboard magazine, KoRn explain more details of their innovative record deal, along with details of their upcoming eighth studio album.

"This is the only way I can explain it," Davis says. "Epic: 'Here's your money. Make a record and we'll put it out.' Virgin: 'Here's the money, make your record, put it out, and we're going to help you booking tours, and we're going to make sure this shit is in the record stores when you come through, and we're going to make sure that this is here and this is there and that and that.'"

The numbers seem to be working out in all partners' favour so far. Davis says roughly $10 million of the EMI money was structured in the form of a traditional album advance, leaving EMI's 30% buy-in valued at about $15 million. So for EMI to recoup their investment on the deal, Billboard estimates that KoRn needs to generate in excess of $50 million in profits during the five-year life span of the pact.

To date, Billboard projects it has generated around $15 million on the sales of "See You on the Other Side" (based on worldwide sales of about 2 million units and estimating a net of about $7.75 per album after manufacturing and distribution costs, based on an $11.45 wholesale price).

The band has also pulled an estimated $4 million after fees from additional sales of digital downloads, ringtones and the "Unplugged" album. On top of that it has netted a projected $7 million-plus after expenses in touring-related revenue from the 2006 Family Values Tour and a 20-date US theatre tour and selected European dates that grossed more than $11 million in box-office receipts.

Tour sponsorships and merch pulled in another estimated $2.2 million. That leaves the band still needing to earn another $20 million-$30 million in profits by 2010.

If its next album repeats the sales of the last (2 million units worldwide), and the band posts numbers on the road similar to 2006 (50 dates grossing around $11 million), it should come close to break-even by the end of this new album cycle. That's before any additional nontouring/non-CD revenue is factored in.

At the time of the deal in 2005, KoRn counsel Gary Stiffelman - who engineered the pact with partner John Branca - told Billboard that the band would be testing "the limits of touring the way a band like Metallica has". And it was initially projected that KoRn would play close to 100 dates per year as part of its relationship with EMI and Live Nation. That didn't quite come to pass in 2006. Impressive as the numbers are for 2006, that's roughly on par with the number of dates the band was logging on the road before the deal. And it's less than the $15 milliom KoRn was taking in during the early parts of its career.

Of course, the low cost of The Family Values tickets affected the band's box-office take. And last year, the band cut short its European tour after Davis was diagnosed with a blood defect.

Ineed, KoRn's stamina becomes important to its deal. Touring, Davis says, has always taken a toll on his voice. Despite granting an interview, he says he is not supposed to talk on days of shows, and is continually reaching for and massaging his throat during the chat.

"We know we have to do a shitload of tours," Shaffer says. "So let's just do it. Line up the shows. I don't want to look and see that I still have to do 200 shows by this time next year."

The cycle kicks into gear with the release of the new album and the start of The Family Values Tour, returning this summer once again with a $9.99 ticket price for lawn seats. Evanescence is also on the bill this year. Frontwoman Amy Lee was a guest on KoRn's "Unplugged" album, and featured in the hit acoustic version of KoRn's "Freak on a Leash".

Beyond Family Values, look for the band to expand its touring footprint outside the States - not just Europe, but in places like South America, too.

Jason Garner, president of North American concerts for Live Nation, is confident in the band's ability to deliver live. "Last year their established themselves as a powerhouse touring act," he says. "We think this is a band capable of doing big numbers now and years to come."

And Garner doesn't seem phased by the touring numbers KoRn put up last year.

"They played two sold-out tours in America I don't think physically or bandwidthwise for the fans they could do much more than that," he says. "When you are going into amphitheatres and selling 20,000 tickets, those are big sales. I guess you could do 100 club dates. Or you can do fewer but massively attended shows - that's what we chose to do with the band and it certainly paid off."

So does KoRn have a good deal? It is a model for a music business? Opinions are divided.

"This is not the perfect model," Kwatinetz says. "It's just one attempt and it's working for KoRn... Managers and acts need to figure out ways to redefine their roles with the people who are involved with them... If everyone's interests are aligned, that is how people will actually put money into the development of acts [in the] long run."

Davis says KoRn's revenue-sharing model would not work for a young act, as the amount gained CD royalties would not cover the lost touring revenue. "It works better for someone who is selling records," Davis says. "We're going to see more money with this deal because we get 70% of the record sales. That is 70% of the revenue that we have never seen."

If as expected the band logs another 100 dates after the "Untitled" album cycle, by the end of 2010, KoRn could net another $14 million in estimated touring money before the completion of the deal. If current KoRn trends hold up - a tall order, given industrywide declining album sales - Billboard's best estimate is that the band is on pace to generate someplace north of $60 million in profits by the end of the deal, based on the sales of some 4 million worldwide albums, and roughly 200 total shows. That would net EMI more than $18 million, Live Nation more than $3 million, and the band more than $38 million, minus $10 million recoupable by EMI in exchange for the album advance.

"It's extraordinary how the band has gone from being counted out to now being a band that radio and video and people are anxiously awaiting and excited about," Kwatinetz says. "Musically they are delivering, and they have built up a lot of good will. They have become a very important creative force. They always were, but I think they are being embraced as that again."