One Direction’s Hiatus Hasn’t Stopped The Big Bucks Rolling In
One Direction may currently be enjoying some time away from their hectic touring and recording schedule, but that has not precluded the boys from being the top earning group in the world. One Direction may have come third on the 2010 season of Simon Cowell’s X-Factor, but their success since then has been nothing short of remarkable. One Direction’s 2014 tour was the world’s biggest netting the boys over $275 million. Last year’s On The Road Again tour was again one of the biggest and ensured that One Direction continue to eclipse the likes of the Rolling Stones when it comes to earnings.
According to the Daily Mirror, One Direction netted over $110 million last year, putting them second only to Taylor Swift in the annual Forbes list of highest paid celebrities. Of course album sales are still important to bands like One Direction, but it is touring that has kept the cash rolling in for the biggest earning boy-band of all time.
One Direction isn't just the top-earning boyband ever—they're also 2nd highest-paid celebs https://t.co/1m1T4w9Qjz pic.twitter.com/PYyN5Dfwxh
— Forbes (@Forbes) July 12, 2016
The Forbes list illustrates just how important touring is to top name artists like One Direction. British crooner Adele’s album outsold One Direction’s Made In The A.M. many times, but she did not tour last year. As a result Adele scraped into the top 10 at No. 9 with earnings of around $80 million, some distance behind One Direction. The only other musician in the top ten on the Forbes list was Taylor Swift, whose massive 1989 tour helped her to top the list with earnings of around $170 million. Despite a fall in income of around $20 million from the previous year, One Direction actually climbed two places in the list from the previous year.
The next biggest grossing band was AC/DC at No. 17 in the Forbes list, some distance behind One Direction. Of course One Direction fans will be fully aware that 2015 will not rank as the best year ever for One Direction. Former member Zayn Malik walked out on the band just weeks into a massive tour, and rumors swept the internet claiming that One Direction would split at the end of their tour.
Incredibly the Independent reports that the 100 top earning celebrities raked in over $5 billion between them, meaning that they earned more than the GDP of some small countries.
Of course with One Direction on hiatus they have not toured in support of Made In The A.M. their fifth album so one might expect their earning to take a dramatic fall next year. That said, as reported recently in the Inquisitr, Harry Styles has signed a deal with Columbia records worth a reputed $80 million. Styles is also making his way in the movie business. Niall Horan has launched a sports management company, whilst Louis Tomlinson has set up his own record label and is himself tipped for a movie role. Liam Payne is busy writing for One Direction and other artists, so it would seem that we will continue to see One Direction in the Rich list for some time to come.
Other One Direction news at present focuses primarily on Niall Horan. According to Metro Niall has been recording solo material and is set to sign a deal with Simon Cowell’s SyCo in the coming weeks. That news will upset some One Direction fans who had been hoping that Horan and his bandmates would move away from the current One Direction management team once their contractual obligations were fulfilled. Horan’s sports management company was launched in partnership with Modest Management so if Horan signs with SyCo for his solo material it would seem that he, at least, is very happy with One Direction’s management team.
Horan has always been the member of One Direction who has been least affected by the drama surrounding the band. Of all of the One Direction boys Horan seems to be pretty adept at keeping himself out of the limelight when it suits him. However, according to the Sun, Horan was spotted packing on the PDA with Belgian student Celine Helene Vandycke at a Mumford And Sons concert in London’s Hyde Park at the weekend.
One Direction fans will recall that, at the end of last year, Horan was continually linked with Selena Gomez despite both parties denying any romantic involvement.
[Photo by: KGC-161/STAR MAX/IPx/AP]
