NIALL IN THE FAMILY

Inside sources confirm that, as was rumored in the U.K. tabloids over the weekend, One Directioner Niall Horan is indeed inking with Steve Barnett's Capitol following another fierce signing derby.

Modest! manager Richard Griffiths, who reps 1D, will continue to manage the Brit heartthrob, whose social footprint among the group's fans is second only to that of erstwhile bandmate Harry Styles (himself freshly signed as a solo act). The word from people who’ve heard Niall’s record is that it’s outstanding.

For those of you keeping score, UMG has two of the lads, Liam Payne (on Capitol U.K.) and now Niall; Uni is thus tied with Sony, which now has Styles on Columbia and ZAYN on RCA. SYCO’s Simon Cowell apparently thought he would prevail this time on behalf of the label group. Would Niall have been placed with Epic in the U.S. had he done so? In any case, the ultimate destination of potential tiebreaker Louis Tomlinson remains TBD.