Irish boy band Westlife has been branded "selfish" and "a rip off" by fans for proposing to charge a £14.99 sterling (£18.90) fee to access some parts of a website it will launch next month.
The band's army of young fans have posted angry messages in Internet chat rooms, and yesterday in Dublin, some fans and parents also gave the plan a thumbs down.
The new website is due to go live on November 1st at www.westlife.com. It will be split into a free access area and a premium area, Westlife Platinum.
Fans who want to access the platinum area will have to pay a £14.99 charge by credit card or purchase a special Westlife platinum card from retailers.
This card would act as a once-off credit card with a unique PIN number, similar to a mobile phone top-up card.
Ms Lisa Walsh, mother of two avid Westlife fans from Dublin, Megan (6) and Molly (3), said the fee was too expensive for young children who follow Westlife.
"For young kids, it's not fair," she said. "She already pays for albums from her pocket money."
Emer (15), who describes herself as a sometime Westlife fan, said there was no way she would pay for the Internet service. "It sounds like they are trying to rip people off," she said.
Mr John Davis, new media manager at Westlife's record company, BMG UK, said there was no force involved in offering the premium site.
"We will still offer an extremely good free site," said Mr Davis.
"It's only if people want to take advantage of the platinum offer (that they pay)."
He said the platinum site would offer music and video downloads, a free text message service and priority access to Westlife concerts.
Mr Davis said Internet sites needed to start paying for themselves. We will see a variety of subscription costs introduced shortly, he added.
Ms Barbara Johnston, spokeswoman for the Council for Catholic Secondary Schools Parents Association, said she was concerned about the fee because of the young age of Westlife's fans.
"It this was adults over 18 then they can make a choice," she said.
"Westlife's target audience is younger than 12."