Adele’s most recent album, 25, sold over eight million copies in 2015 alone. To put that number into perspective, the year’s second and third highest selling albums — 1989 by Taylor Swift and Purpose by Justin Bieber — only went three and two times platinum, respectively. It was the fastest selling album in the UK, besting the previous record set by Oasis’ Be Here Now, and U.S. history, topping NSYNC’s No Strings Attached. The eye-popping numbers go on and on, but the point is, Adele is staggeringly popular, and now she’s cashing in.
The $130 million contract with Sony Music will be the biggest record deal ever awarded to a British artist… breaking Robbie Williams’ record of $125 million, a deal he signed with record label EMI in 2002. Additionally, she surpassed Whitney Houston’s $100 million contract with Arista Records in 2001, meaning that Adele will also be signing the biggest record deal by any female singer. (Via)
An anonymous Sony source called Adele “without a doubt the biggest music star in a generation,” and now she’s getting paid like it. That $130 million isn’t the most profitable recording contract ever — Jay Z signed a $150 million deal with Live Nation in 2008, for instance — but it still gives her enough “f*ck you” money to taunt your new lover.
(Via Fortune)
