British singer-songwriter Adele has signed a contract with Sony worth up to £90 million (117 million euros, $131 million), in one of the biggest ever record deals, British media reported.

The 28-year-old was the biggest selling artist in the world last year, and broke sales records in Britain and the United States with her third album "25" and its hit track "Hello".

Adele has been at London-based independent label XL Recordings since she was a teenager.

It appears the Grammy-award-winning singer has now moved to music giant Sony, signing the deal through one of its US labels, Columbia.

An industry source quoted in The Guardian on Tuesday did not specify the number of albums required under the contract but said it "gives Sony the rights to release her future music exclusively around the world".

The deal is similar to the $100 million, multi-album deal that Whitney Houston agreed with Arista Records in 2001, which would be worth about $135 million today.

Adele was named Britain's richest-ever female musician in the latest Sunday Times Rich List, estimated to be worth £85 million, up £35 million from a year ago.

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