At the time of their formation in 1986, Buffalo, New York-based band the Goo Goo Dolls, like many budding rock acts, were so eager for a record deal they were pretty much willing to sign any contract, no matter how detrimental it was to band members. As hard as it is to imagine that the four-piece with 19 top ten singles and two Grammy nominations could get in a financial jam at the height of their career, the Goo Goo Dolls narrowly evaded bankruptcy after signing a less-than-favorable deal.

After releasing a string of well-received albums in the late 1980s, the pop rock band signed a contract with Metal Blade Records, an “unfair” agreement which “exploited their naivete” as Billboard reports. Encyclopedia.com adds that the contract also mandated members to “sign away most of their royalty rights.”

This slew of unfortunate contractual mistakes meant that while the Goo Goo Dolls pursued a permanent spot in the rock canon, many still held down part-time jobs, according to Music Fan Clubs. Even as 1995’s smash-hit record A Boy Named Goo sold millions of copies (and served as the first album in Metal Blade history to achieve double-platinum status), the money was never issued from the record label. In fact, each member only received $6,000 a year from the company due to the poorly negotiated contract.

'Blown away that we actually pulled it off'

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