Impresario Louis Walsh may have described former Boyzone lead singer Ronan Keating as "talentless" but the X-Factor panellist is still making money from the singer and his fellow band members six years after they split up.
Mr Walsh took more than €44,000 in commission last year from War Management, the company set up to manage Boyzone, according to accounts filed with the Companies Registration Office.
John Reynolds, owner of the Pod nightclub and one-time co-manager of the boyband, earned over €43,000.
The two men have joint ownership of War Management, which was set up to handle Boyzone's earnings from album sales, performances, merchandising and endorsements.
Boyzone sold more than 10 million albums over seven whirlwind years before breaking up in 2000.
The five-member band, which made its debut on the Late Late Show in 1993, had hit singles such as Love Me for a Reason and No Matter What.
Mr Walsh went on to manage Mr Keating's solo career and currently manages Westlife and Girls Aloud. He is also a judge on TV shows X Factor and You're a Star. He told the media that Mr Keating was "talentless" after the singer fired his former mentor three years ago.
Mr Walsh, whose other interests include a company called Tone Deaf Management, took payment through an entity called Brill Management, while Mr Reynolds took his share through Industria Entertainment.
While the band may have split up, the two former managers charge management fees because "record sales continue for Boyzone", a spokesman for Mr Walsh said.
The Pod, meanwhile, declined to return calls seeking comment on the commission Mr Reynolds received from Boyzone's company. War Management posted a profit of just €822 in the year ended November 30th, 2005, compared with a year-earlier loss of €41,389, the accounts showed.
The most recent accounts filed for Industria Entertainment are for the year through March 31st, 2004, when the firm's loss widened to €92,974 from €12,748.
Brill Management, which runs another undisclosed band managed by Mr Walsh, went from an accumulated loss of €152,964 to accumulated earnings of €37,906 in the 12 months to August 31st, 2005, implying a profit of €190,870 for the latest financial year.
