Niall Horan seems to be prepping post-One Direction life with reports that he will be signing with a new label and collaborating with a new producer.

The Mirror reports that Horan will be leaving Syco and Columbia Records, the label overseeing One Direction and run by Simon Cowell. Instead, Horan has inked a deal with Capitol Records under Universal Music for his first solo album. The paper goes on to say that it was widely expected that Horan would stay with Syco, but that the deal with Capitol was too big to pass up.

Meanwhile, The Sun reports that Horan has enlisted the help of record producer and songwriter Greg Kurstin to work on new material for Horan. Kurstin's previous collaborations include music with Paul McCartney, Adele, Tegan and Sara, and P!nk.

Horan's signing comes after Syco and Columbia did successfully get Harry Styles to stay with the label, while Liam Payne moved on to join Capitol. Payne's first solo album is targeted for a late 2016/early 2017 release. Zayn Malik, who left the band before the indefinite hiatus, signed his solo career deal with RCA Records.

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