Austin Mahone Signed To Universal Republic

Austin Mahone, the teen YouTube star profiled in the June 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter, has signed with Universal Republic Records, home to Owl City, Florence + The Machine, the late Amy Winehouse and Dev.

The 16-year-old tweeted a photo of the big moment in which he is pictured alongside his mother Michele Mahone and management team, Chase Entertainment (see below). Austin Mahone tweeted the news, which was promptly retweeted 5,200 times within an hour.

"We are so excited that Austin is officially signed and couldn't be happier with the deal," Michele Mahone tells THR. "Our patience has certainly paid off. We have been very blessed."

According to label sources, Mahone's Miami-based managers, who also represent T-Pain, were asking for a so-called "360 deal" estimated to be worth $3 million to $4 million. That would include profit sharing in merchandising, publishing, licensing and, of course, recorded music, in addition to other ancillary revenue. The terms of his deal are not yet known, but an insider said it is in the seven figures.

Mahone had been pursued by other major labels including Warner Bros., Island Def Jam and Epic. Although they're not labelmates directly, Justin Bieber and Mahone -- who has been called Baby Bieber -- now are contracted to the same company: Universal Music Group (UMG). Similarly, both gained attention far beyond their small towns (Mahone lives in Florida but hails from La Vernia, Texas) via homemade YouTube videos of them singing cover songs (in Mahone's case, that included Bieber tunes) and amassed a huge social media presence practically on their own. Mahone's Twitter follower count just passed the 1 million mark. On the touring front, he is represented by Paradigm.

Speaking to THR in June, Mahone's manager Rocco Valdes said he always was anticipating a seven-figure deal for his client. "If a record label wants to come in and participate, it's going to take a lot," he said. "There's a certain premium a label will have to pay to come into something like this, where he already has everything set up."