English singer-songwriter Adele has just inked a massive deal with Sony Music worth a staggering £90 million pounds ($130 million). The singing sensation had until now, released all three of her previous albums: ‘19’, ‘21’, and ‘25’ through a UK independent label, XL Recordings.
But a Sony executive was recently quoted telling British tabloid The Sun, “We’ve secured Adele, who’s without doubt the biggest music star in a generation. This is massive. Adele’s deal with her original label XL expired and we’d an existing relationship with her in America. The deal is being worked on by our Columbia label in the US, but is worth £90 million and gives Sony the rights to release her future music exclusively around the world.”
Needless to say, Adele is a great pull for Sony Music, but it’s equally a big deal for Adele. This is the largest and most lucrative deal for a female artist, as well as the biggest record deal ever given to a British musician; the record for the highest-paid female performer previously belonged to R&B Queen Whitney Houston.
As far as English musicians go, the top spot used to belong to ex-Take That band-member Robbie Williams, who landed an £80 million pound deal with EMI Records back in 2002.