Jennifer Lopez might have to start looking for a new label if she wants to make another original record. A source close to Epic Records and Epic's parent company, Sony BMG, says that the label is fed up not only with J.Lo's paltry album sales, but with the amount of money it's costing to promote the diva.

'She costs too much money and doesn't sell enough,' says the source, who is familiar with the issue. 'Her last album cover alone cost $60,000 in hair and makeup, lighting, photographers, re-touching, etc. The video budget was in the neighborhood of $300,000.'

And that's just what it costs to get the album out the door. Lopez performed on 'Good Morning America' earlier this month, and all the costs were absorbed by the label. 'Epic had to eat the cost for that entire performance. From her makeup '” which typically costs in the neighborhood of $8,000 per day '” to the backup singers, to the rigging, lighting and sound,' says a source close to the Lopez camp. 'The woman requires everything short of flying monkeys to get on a stage.'

Lopez also appeared on 'Dancing With the Stars,' and a source who is familiar with the standard costs of performing on the ABC hit estimates that it cost Lopez and her label at least $60,000.

Lopez has been promoting 'Brave,' her first studio album to not debut in the top 10 on Billboard's charts. 'Brave' was released Oct. 9 and sold only 53,000 copies in its first week. The record label makes an average of $4 per CD, according to most estimates. Any way you do the math, the label is not coming close to breaking even on Lopez.

'Sony and Epic might keep her,' a source who is familiar with the situation says, 'but she'll be doing little more than greatest hits albums. That you can do without incurring a huge cost. The label is tired of throwing money away.'

Reps for Lopez didn't return calls and e-mails by press time.

Calls for Vladimir Putin to remain Russian president beyond next year gained momentum on Friday night after a senior lawmaker said there were legal means for him to continue in office and rallies took place in several Russian cities urging him to stay.

Sergei Mironov, speaker of Russia's upper house, said the issue of a third term for Mr Putin had 'not been taken off the agenda' in spite of a constitutional bar on presidents serving more than two consecutive terms.

Mr Putin himself, speaking after an EU-Russia summit in Portugal, reiterated that he had no plans to change the constitution to allow him to stay after his second term ends in March.

However, Mr Mironov said he was examining legal methods that would allow Mr Putin to remain without breaching the constitution.

'In my view, Mr Putin legitimately remaining in his post would be a blessing for Russia,' Mr Mironov said.

'Spontaneous rallies are going on in the country with calls for Vladimir Putin to stay in his post and we as legislators . . . should think how we can legitimately ­submit this issue at least for examination by the ­president.'

At least five cities staged rallies this week calling for the president to stay on, with more reportedly planning to do so and several regional legislatures planning to issue similar calls. Volgograd in the south and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the far east organised meetings on Tuesday.

A day later, the Chechen capital Grozny held a 20,000-strong rally and two smaller Chechen towns held similar meetings.

Kommersant newspaper reported that 10,000 rallied in Tver, north-west of Moscow, calling for the 'continuation of Vladimir Putin's policy, the policy of national success and national pride'.

The Russian government newspaper last week published a letter claiming to represent 65,000 Russian artists, which pleaded for Mr Putin to remain in office.

Mr Putin told this month's congress of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party that he would head its ticket in December parliamentary elections. It was 'entirely realistic' he might become prime minister next year.

The remarks were seen as signalling he would step down as president but remain an important political figure.

The president on Friday deepened the mystery surrounding his intentions by saying he had no plans to change the constitution. 'As to my future job, I haven't decided yet in what capacity I will work. I don't think there is a need to change the structure of authority in Russia,' he said.

'The capacity of the Russian presidency will remain as it is, if it depends on me.'

Repeating earlier promises that his second presidential term would be his last, he said: 'I'm not going to change the constitution to serve my own needs. In accordance with the law, I will not run for the presidency for a third term.'

His remarks appeared to play down one possible ­scenario under which Mr Putin would swap the presidency for the prime ministership and then increase the premier's powers.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007