AMERICAN IDOL'S SIMON COWELL SAYS HE IS BIGGER THAN THE BOSS: HE SAYS HE SHOULD MAKE FIVE TIMES WHAT BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN MAKES ? "60 MINUTES"

The Acerbic "Idol" Judge Also Gets a Dose of His Own Medicine

"American Idol" judge and music executive Simon Cowell says he's worth five times more to his record label Sony BMG than its big recording artist Bruce Springsteen. The man whose critical comments are at the center of television's most popular program speaks to Anderson Cooper - and gets critiqued himself for a change -- in a 60 MINUTES profile to be broadcast Sunday, March 18 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

"I sell more records than Bruce Springsteen," Cowell says of the rock star who signed a contract with Sony BMG reported to be in the neighborhood of $100 million. "In the last five years, I've probably sold over 100 million records. If [Springsteen] got 100 [million dolaars], I should have got 500," he tells Cooper.

How does he sell 100 million records? "By doing 'Idol'...I signed the biggest artist on the planet and it's called 'Idol' because every single 'Idol' winner is now signed through Sony BMG," says Cowell. "And this applies to...all the countries...we sell 'Idol' to, which is over 30 countries," he says.

Cowell's deal with Sony BMG is also said to be in the same neighborhood as Springsteen's. "A hundred million...that's a great deal," he tells Cooper, who then asks, "For [Springsteen] or for you?" "For him. For him it's a good deal."

In the 60 MINUTES profile, Cowell answers critics who say he's bad for the record industry, discusses his perceived cruelty to contestants and actually gets the tables turned on him when a group of judges critique him doing something he is passionate about.

To see a preview of the segment in which Cowell compares himself to Springsteen, click on the link below http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2573035n">