London, Feb 2 : Music mogul Simon Cowell has denied that contestants on his reality TV shows are being treated unfairly and paid poorly.

Cowell, who hosts the show American Idol, insisted that all finalists go on to earn thousands of dollars as a result of his hit shows, after he came under attack from a British newspaper.

The paper had claimed that the finalists on his U. K. talent show X Factor had been signed for a country-wide tour after the show ended last year, but were paid as little as
250 pounds per gig.

"I don''t mind being cast as the pantomime baddie - but I am very fair in business. It is not slave labour," the Daily Star quoted him as saying.

"I won''t go into the precise figures because that is confidential but these people will earn about 50,000 pounds each on the X Factor tour.

"For any kid who wants to get into the music business and hasn''t got a recording contract - it''s a good deal.

"To put them in front of 16 million viewers over a period of time and then pay them 50,000 pounds for three months work? That is not a bad deal," he added. (ANI)