British singer Adele is reportedly about to sign the biggest record deal ever for a UK artist, with sources at Sony Music telling the UK's Sun newspaper that she is about to sign an £90million (Dh479m) deal with the global music giant.
The source reportedly told The Sun: "We've secured Adele, who's the biggest music star in a generation. This is massive."
If the figures are correct, the deal will double the singer’s current estimated £85m fortune and beat the previous record for a British artist, set when EMI secured the services of Robbie Williams for £80m in 2002.
The deal would also be the highest-ever for a female artist, at almost 30 per cent more than Whitney Houston’s £70m deal with Arista in 2001.
The deal still has some way to go to catch up the best-paid male stars in pop, however.
Michael Jackson’s estate negotiated a US$250million (Dh918m) deal with Sony a year after the singer’s death, while as long ago as 1993, Irish rockers U2 landed a $200m deal with Polydor. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics calculator, that is the equivalent of $331m, adjusted for inflation.
cnewbould@thenational.ae