Adele 'to sign £90 million Sony Music contract'

Adele is reportedly due to sign a £90 million record contract, landing the biggest deal ever handed to a British musician.

The Sony Music contract would top the £80 million Robbie Williams landed from EMI in 2002 and would give her the best deal ever handed to a female artist, dwarfing the £70 million Whitney Houston scored in 2001 from Arista.

A source at Sony Music told The Sun: "We've secured Adele, who's without doubt the biggest music star in a generation. This is massive."

The singer is already worth £85 million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

The source added: "Adele's deal with her original label XL expired and we'd an existing relationship with her in America.

"The deal is being worked on by our Columbia label in the US, but is worth £90 million and gives Sony the rights to release her future music exclusively around the world."

The contract was negotiated by her manager Jonathan Dickins, the newspaper reported.

A source told the paper: "Jonathan's been putting it together for a couple of years. He was very aware of her worth in the market and stood firm to push for the £90 million."

A spokeswoman for Adele declined to comment.

Michael Jackson's estate still holds the record for the biggest recording contract in history, signed nine months after the singer's death.

The 250 million US dollar (£164 million) deal with Sony gave the label rights to up to 10 new recordings, back catalogue and franchising.