According to various sources, vocal powerhouse Adele is negotiating with Sony Music for a $130 million contract that will give the company exclusive rights to her forthcoming musical material. While the details surrounding the contract and what it entails are unclear, it does look like Sony has indeed acquired one of the biggest names in music.
If you listen to music at all, then you’ve heard Adele’s songs at some point or another. Her 2015 album 25 sold 3.38 million copies in its first week and those numbers are just for the U.S. It currently has sold over 19 million copies worldwide. If the sources are correct, Adele’s $130 million price tag will top some of the highest amounts shelled out for an artist contract- if everything goes through, her contract will be the highest paying record deal ever for a British musician.
This contract between Adele and Sony Music would hopefully be a mutually beneficial relationship. Despite Adele’s incredible popularity, her unwillingness to go on tour and her refusal to take endorsement deals do make her a risky financial investment for Sony. The singer also publicly criticized the label at the Brit Awards for their refusal to release Kesha from her contract with Dr. Luke, whom she accused of sexual assault. Despite these points, Adele’s hold on the music industry is firm and shows no sign of loosening even though the singer lives the majority of her life outside of the public eye. Her album sales alone are a testament to the fact that she’s undoubtedly a musical legend in the making, a legend Sony Music is most definitely interested in exclusively securing.