On Air Now
Capital Breakfast with Jordan North, Chris Stark and Sian Welby 6am - 10am
20 September 2012, 08:43 | Updated: 20 September 2012, 10:06
The 'One Thing' singers are said to have made a huge amount from sales and endorsements in their brief career so far.
One Direction have reportedly earned an estimated £100 million between them over the past two years.
The 'What Makes You Beautiful' stars, who first rose to fame as runners-up on the 2010 series of The X Factor UK, are believed to have become one of the most finically successful UK pop acts after a string of endorsements and high record sales worldwide.
The claim was made in a revised paperback edition of biographer Tom Bower's book on Syco boss Simon Cowell, called Sweet Revenge: The Intimate Life Of Simon Cowell.
"One Direction were Cowell's new Westlife - a revival of his mastery of the music business," Tom Bower writes in the new chapter, reports The Mirror. "Nothing had been left to chance by Sony Music, with the band's hit album 'Up All Night' selling more than five million copies worldwide.
"The songs, the publishing, the discs, the DVDs, the merchandising and endorsements brought in huge profits, with the group estimated to have earned nearly £100 million. Naturally, Sony and Syco raked in much more," the writer added.
View a picture of One Direction during their promotional tour of the US earlier this year below (Credit: PA):
One Direction have scored a large number of endorsement deals since arriving in the music industry with their debut album 'Up All Night' in 2011, including deals with Pokemon, Pepsi and a tour DVD.
Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Niall Horan are currently preparing to begin promoting their brand new single 'Live While We're Young', which is due out on 30th September.
One Direction will then release their second studio album 'Take Me Home' on 12th November.