One Direction ink megadeal

One Direction have signed a £10 million megadeal.

The band will release another three albums for Simon Cowell's record label Syco between now and 2016.

Two of the albums will be studio work and the third will be a greatest hits compilation.

Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson were locked in talks for most of the year, but an agreement has finally been made.

"Simon Cowell and One Direction are delighted to confirm they have agreed to continue their hugely successful relationship with a new long-term agreement with Syco," a label spokesman confirmed to British newspaper The Sun. "Simon and the band look forward to many years of continued success together."

The contract will only be valid after the release of Midnight Memories, One Direction's third album due out in November.

More tours have also been planned for next year and the band are very excited.

"This is a big deal for Simon and the lads," an insider said. "It shows confidence that they have a long-term future and that a split or members going solo is highly unlikely. It will easily keep them busy until the end of 2015 and probably 2016 too."

There will be a lot of money to be made from residuals, including merchandise and record sales.

"The boys, Simon and their team have already started planning for their fourth album, even though the third isn't out yet," the insider continued. "It's worth a lot of cash too. They'll get a big upfront payment worth millions then much more from record sales, tours, brand tie-ins and merchandise."