Naughty Boy: 'One Direction aren't a band, they're an economy'

Naughty Boy believes One Direction are more of an "economy" than a band.

The pop group were formed from solo contestants on the UK X Factor in 2010 before going on to sell millions of records.

Producer Naughty Boy formed a strong bond with the group's former singer Zayn Malik, but that went awry earlier this year after a Twitter spat.

Speaking to ITV's Lorraine today (September 22), the music man suggested that Malik didn't leave One Direction to work with him - it was because the group are a money making machine.

He said: "I got caught up in a bit of a circus as in when Zayn left the band, I got accused of basically being the reason why he left. People thought he left because he wanted to work with me.

"But do you know what it is, One Direction is like an economy, it's not a band. It became a bit of a circus and in hindsight it's like I went back to primary school but with Beyoncé and this song I feel like I'm doing my Masters."

Naughty Boy meanwhile recently unveiled his new song 'Runnin' (Lose It All)', which features Beyoncé.

Listen to Naughty Boy's Beyoncé track below: