One Direction stars Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne are allegedly pocketing the most money from the band after penning many of their tunes.

According to The Sun, the pair have writing credits on half of the tracks on their current album Midnight Memories, with both Louis and Liam already in the studio working on 1D's fourth studio LP.

Payne is quoted by the tabloid as saying: "Louis and I have a little partnership going on. We’ve been pretty keen to start writing straight away.

“I’ve been in the studio already, it’s been going really well. Learning how to write is the best way of ensuring your career has longevity and that you have control over it."

He added: "I really think the next album is going to be a game-changer for us. I’m excited.”

Writers usually earn nine per-cent of each song's royalties, meaning Liam and Louis will get a largercut than bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik.

As a group, the lads are thought to be worth £100million - raking in revenue from their music sales, sold out stadium tour and merchandise.