One Direction Set To Become Booming $100 Million Business

With world tour and new album on horizon, boy band expected to double profits in the coming year, Sony executive says.
By Jocelyn Vena

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If One Direction feel like they can't get any more successful, think again: According to one of their label bosses, the British boybanders are poised to double their business for the 2013 fiscal year.

The guys are currently worth $50 million, Sony Music UK chairman Nick Gatfield shared with Music Week, according to Press Party, and in the coming year, that is expected to hit $100 million. "What you might not know about One Direction is that they already represent a $50 million business," he said. "And that's a figure we expect to double next year."

The guys are currently on a massive North American summer tour and will headline Madison Square Garden at the tail-end of 2012 before they go on an already announced and highly anticipated world tour next year. Adding to all the pandemonium, they've also teased a possible fourth-quarter album release and have even been attached to a number of other projects, including a big-screen 3-D spectacular and a cartoon.

But, it's not just the guys who are cashing checks: They employ a small convoy. "The team around them — which includes musicians, stylists, producers, tour managers and so on — account for around 90 people," Gatfield added. "That's 90 jobs created by these five boys."

As for that sophomore album, Niall Horan told Ryan Seacrest that things are in motion for a follow-up to the chart-topping Up All Night to be done before the year's end. "We're trying to get it done. We're working on it at the moment — recording whenever we can and writing songs on the road. Hopefully, we can get it done before Christmas."

As for rumors that the guys might soon get animated in a series tentatively dubbed "The Adventurous Adventures of One Direction," Liam Payne teased in a recent interview that the one-off could lead to a regular series. However, a rep for the band couldn't comment to MTV News about any developments on that front.

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