Ed Sheeran has left Warner Music Group.
The singer-songwriter revealed in a newsletter to fans on Friday (May 22) that he parted ways with Atlantic Records and Asylum Records last month, ending a 15–year partnership that produced eight studio albums and 170 million album sales worldwide.
“This isn’t a ‘disgruntled artist leaves record label’ type situation,” Sheeran wrote in the newsletter obtained by Music Week.
“This is a boy who started as a teenager on the company with different priorities, to the father of 2 man who exists now, who feels like he needs a shift and change in the way he does things professionally.”
Sheeran said the split was amicable, writing: “I leave the company with SO much love and gratitude for everything we have achieved together.”
“This isn’t a ‘disgruntled artist leaves record label’ type situation. This is a boy who started as a teenager on the company with different priorities, to the father of 2 man who exists now, who feels like he needs a shift and change in the way he does things professionally.”
Ed Sheeran
He added: “I love Ed Howard forever, I love Asylum forever, and the door is always open for the future.
“Thank you everyone across Warner worldwide who has worked on my projects over the last 15 years, it’s been an incredible journey.
“Excited to see where the next 15 years takes me.”
Warner Music Group will continue to release Sheeran’s catalog, which spans eight studio albums – from 2011’s Plus through to 2025’s Play – and encompasses 126 billion global streams, 38 billion YouTube views, and 14 tracks in Spotify‘s Billions Club, according to Music Week.
In the UK alone, Sheeran has scored 13 No.1 singles, nine No.1 albums, and 53 platinum and multi-platinum singles.
In his statement, Sheeran described the origins of his relationship with the label – and the chance encounter that started it all.
“I met Ed Howard from Asylum Records at a show in Notting Hill when I was 18 and I ended up crashing at his and his now wife’s house,” Sheeran wrote.
“Whilst there I played him a bunch of music, and just chatted about life and what I wanted to do.
“I honestly didn’t know at the time he worked at a record label, I thought he was just someone cool who was letting me crash on his sofa.
“But the next day I found out who he was, and we started chatting.”
Howard – who went on to become co-president of Atlantic Records UK – supported Sheeran from those early days, attending his pub gigs alongside Ben Cook, who ran Asylum at the time.
“All the tiny tiny pub gigs no one came to, they came to,” Sheeran wrote.
“So when No. 5 Collaborations came out, and I was offered a deal, I signed instantly.
“I love those guys so much.”
Ed Howard, co-president of Atlantic Records UK, said, as per Music Week: “From the sofa-surfing teenager I met in 2009 to the global music icon he is today, Ed has spent the last 15 years showing the world what happens when unmatched talent meets unwavering integrity.
“Being able to play a part in his extraordinary musical journey has been a privilege and I’ve learnt so much from him.
“Beyond the music, the example he sets as a mentor to other artists, a champion for education, a father, a friend and simply as a human being is truly special.”
Ed Howard, Atlantic records uk (via Music Week)
“Beyond the music, the example he sets as a mentor to other artists, a champion for education, a father, a friend and simply as a human being is truly special.
“I feel incredibly grateful to have him in my life. Big love brother.
“On behalf of the wonderful Warner Music teams around the world that championed him over the years, I know we all stand squarely in his corner as Ed steps into his next chapter.”
Warner Music Group said in a statement obtained by Music Week: “Warner Music Group is proud to have supported Ed through his discovery and remarkable rise over the past 15 years and grateful for his continued partnership.
“Warner Music Group is proud to have supported Ed through his discovery and remarkable rise over the past 15 years and grateful for his continued partnership.”
Warner Music Group (via Music Week)
“As we steward his iconic catalogue into the future, we’ll ensure that his music will touch hearts and move feet around the world for generations to come.
“Everyone in the Warner Music family wishes Ed the very best as he embarks on the next chapter of his extraordinary artistic journey.”
Sheeran signed with Asylum – an imprint of Atlantic Records within Warner Music Group – in 2011, releasing his debut album Plus that September.
What followed was one of the most commercially dominant runs in modern pop history.
His third album, Divide, broke Spotify’s first-day streaming record upon release in March 2017, drawing 56.73 million streams in 24 hours.
The accompanying Divide tour generated a record-setting $432 million in 2018 alone, according to Pollstar – making it the highest-grossing tour in a single calendar year at that time.
Across its full 2017–2019 run, the Divide tour became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time.
Sheeran went on to release No. 6 Collaborations Project (2019), Equals (2021), and Subtract (2023), followed by Autumn Variations (2023) – released through his own Gingerbread Man Records via ADA, Warner’s independent distribution arm.
His most recent album, Play, arrived in September 2025 via Gingerbread Man Records and Atlantic Records. It was the first installment of a planned pentalogy of albums named after media control symbols, with Rewind, Fast-Forward, and Stop among those to follow.
Sheeran was listed as a top seller for WMG in the company’s most recent quarterly results, published earlier this month, which showed total revenue of $1.73 billion in calendar Q1 2026.
Outside of his recording career, Sheeran launched the Ed Sheeran Foundation in January 2025 and subsequently called on the UK government to commit £250 million to music education, in an open letter backed by Harry Styles, Coldplay, Stormzy, Elton John, and others.
Sheeran, who is 35, has not yet revealed where his future releases will be distributed.
He was also the first artist to feature on Warner Music Group‘s in-development superfan app, details of which emerged in April 2025.
Sheeran is currently on the road with his Loop Tour, in support of Play, which began in Auckland in January 2026 and is scheduled to run through December.
“Over the last 15 years, I’ve put out so much music, and had so much success with that company,” Sheeran wrote.
“My life is hugely different now to what it was when I was a teenager, and I’ve been feeling in my gut for a long time that a lot of things in my professional life need to change.
“I am, underneath it all, a singer songwriter who plays pub gigs.
“And I’ve sorta morphed into this pop star who plays stadiums over 15 years, it’s a super amazing thing to have happened but also a lot to get your head around.”Music Business Worldwide
