He did not comment on the suit or the possibility of the group's return to RCA, which is distributed by Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG). Earlier this month, 'N Sync announced that it was leaving RCA and had signed with Jive Records, home to teen pop sensations Backstreet Boys [ tickets ] and Britney Spears. RCA and parent company BMG responded with a $150 million lawsuit, filed on Oct. 12 in a federal court in Orlando. The companies are seeking rights to the 'N Sync name and threaten to stop all future tours and recordings.

Reports vary on why the group wanted to leave RCA and join Jive, which is a division of the Zomba group. Some claim simply that 'N Sync was after more money. But the Los Angeles Times, relying completely on unnamed sources, reported that Zomba chief Clive Calder lured 'N Sync away from RCA/BMG as a strategy to negotiate a new, more lucrative distribution deal with the company.

BMG currently distributes Zomba/Jive recordings in North America, but the deal ends in June. If BMG loses 'N Sync to Zomba, it could see as much as $28 million from the group's next two albums go down the drain, the Los Angeles Times reported. BMG's relationship with Zomba is further complicated by the fact that it bought 20% of Zomba's Jive from Calder in the early '90s, as well of 25% of the Zomba music publishing company.

BMG's chief Strauss Zelnick, credited with cutting costs and restructuring RCA since he began five years ago, tried to hold on to 'N Sync by offering them more money with a new deal. BMG executives reportedly discussed a proposal where it would renew its distribution deal with Zomba for another year and, in exchange, 'N Sync would make two new records for Zomba, which would take the lion's share of the profit. In essence, BMG was willing to give up 'N Sync as an RCA act if it could keep doing business with Zomba and all of its high-earning, extremely popular acts.

But negotiations broke down, BMG/RCA filed suit, and no new discussions have been held. As a result, 'N Sync's real label affiliation appears to be in flux. A spokeswoman for BMG's legal office would only say that ''it's a touchy situation.'' The group is not featured on the Jive Records Web site, and the obvious reason for that, said Jive publicist Carlos Vega, was that ''it's all up in the air.''

As for the controversy about 'N Sync joining the same label as the Backstreet Boys, the teen supergroup that some say 'N Sync emulates, singer Timberlake tap-danced around the issue in his Toronto Sun interview. ''We don't look at anyone as rivals. I don't know if anyone looks at us as rivals. They're not really part of my world.''