Business News Deals

Zayn Malik signs solo deal with RCA

By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 30 July 2015

Zayn Malik has signed a solo record deal with Sony/RCA, a day after it emerged he had a new management contract with Turn First Artists. Well, it’s good to get all your admin done in one go, isn’t it?

Although the move takes him to a new label, he remains, of course, within the Sony family – One Direction still working with Sony divisions Syco in the UK and Columbia in the US until they split later this year.

The singer announced the deal on Twitter, taking a Leona Lewis-style swipe at One Direction’s output in the process, saying: “I guess I never explained why I left [One Direction]. It was for this moment to be given the opportunity to show you who I really am! #realmusic #RCA”

He followed that up with a photo of him signing his new contract, and then another hashtag “REALME” to show that he really means business. Real business. Really.

Despite the sniping, Simon Cowell tweeted his congratulations to Malik, and took a bit of the credit for the deal too. “We have been working on this for a while and I am pleased to say congratulations to Zayn Malik on signing with RCA”, he wrote, adding: “I believe they are the perfect label for Zayn’s solo career and I am sure whatever they release together will be special”.

So, with Cowell still on side, what did Malik’s former bandmates have to say about the news on Twitter? Well, Harry tweeted a photo of Jack Nicholson, Niall tweeted about “a very brave little dude called Gavin”, Liam continued a silence that has lasted since Monday, and Louis tweeted about a charity fundraising competition.

And I don’t think it takes a master codebreaker to work out what they all mean.