'N Surrection?

If the Backstreet Boys or 'N Sync care to look for outside material to cover on their next albums, they might each consider the old Sparks hit ''This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us.''

At least that seems like an appropriate theme for the rivalry between the two groups, which has added bizarre new wrinkles to what was already one of the most curious and complicated music-biz stories in memory. It's a backstreet brawl of a tale that just grew more twisted with the filing of a $150 million lawsuit against 'N Sync by their former, and possibly still future, label.

The saga began in mid September when 'N Sync shocked the industry by announcing they'd left RCA Records to join Jive, home to the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, a move that, if consummated, would cement Jive's claims to true teen-pop hegemony. But the Backstreet Boys apparently didn't want it that way. News accounts indicate that the Boys' attorneys sent a letter to Jive later in the month threatening to leave the label by any means necessary. The move suggests that the quintet's distaste for fellow ''boy band'' 'N Sync may run so deep they'd rather risk getting tangled up in litigation than share the roster with a group they reportedly consider second-rate clones.

''It's dangerous for the Backstreet Boys to give the impression that the reason they want to leave Jive is because of 'N Sync,'' says Johnny Wright, 'N Sync's manager, who at one time worked with both groups. ''I'm worried that now the industry and fans will be put in a position to take sides, and that's detrimental for both acts. If anything, the Backstreet Boys should embrace this situation, because teen pop is taking such potshots [from the press] that a rivalry between the two groups is only gonna further hurt it. And in reality, 'N Sync's move to Jive had nothing to do with the Backstreet Boys.'' (The Backstreet Boys and their management declined to comment for this article.)

But are either of these chart-conquering quintets — whose combined 1998 record-sale grosses topped $130 million — really moving? Not so fast. A Jive spokesperson, while neither confirming nor denying the Boys' alleged threat, insists the group is ''signed to a long-term exclusive recording contract, and they're not leaving.'' And RCA is saying much the same thing about 'N Sync — in court. On Oct. 12, after settlement negotiations broke down, a $150 million lawsuit was filed in Orlando, Fla., against 'N Sync as well as Jive's parent company, Zomba. The plaintiffs — BMG, RCA's corporate parent; Trans Continental Records, which first signed 'N Sync and licensed the band to BMG; and Trans Con owner Lou Pearlman — are asking the court to prevent the lads and their would-be new label from using the 'N Sync name or releasing any new product. Besides an injunction, the suit also seeks $100 million in damages and $50 million in punitive damages.

Perceived ironies abound. ''Jive is talking out of both sides of its mouth,'' asserts Michael Friedman of the law firm Parker Chapin, attorney for Trans Continental. ''On the one hand, they say the Backstreet Boys can't walk away from their [Jive]contract; on the other hand, when they look at 'N Sync's contract with Trans Con, they make believe it doesn't exist.''