Rebecca Allen is stepping away from her role as Chief Artist and Strategy Officer at Universal Music Group UK.
The exec has spent 27 years at Universal Music.
Allen announced the move in an email sent on Tuesday (October 13), which has been obtained by MBW.
She wrote that she will stay connected to UMG as an adviser.
The email was addressed to her “friends, colleagues and Universal family,” under the subject line Too Good at Goodbyes.
That is also the title of a 2017 single by Sam Smith, released via Capitol Records.
Allen‘s email did not name a successor or give a date for her departure.
Allen was promoted to the newly formed role of Chief Artist and Strategy Officer at UMG UK in December 2025.
In that role, she was tasked with supporting UMG UK‘s labels in “helping artists navigate every step of their journey within the company, from new signings to established acts, to build long-term success,” according to the company.
She also continued to lead UMG UK’s Audience, Media & Strategy (AMS) and Artist Relations teams.
UMG UK described AMS as its largest team at the time of Allen’s promotion.
The company also said that, under Allen‘s leadership, AMS “has reshaped how the company develops and delivers audience-led artist strategy.”
“After 27 years at Universal Music, this chapter is coming to an end,” Allen wrote in the email.
“I’ll be stepping away from my current role and, while I’ll remain connected to UMG in an advisory capacity, the time feels right for me to turn the page and make space for a new chapter.
“There are, of course, a lot of emotions that come with saying goodbye after so long. Mostly, I feel incredibly fortunate.”
“I’ll be stepping away from my current role and, while I’ll remain connected to UMG in an advisory capacity, the time feels right for me to turn the page and make space for a new chapter.”
Rebecca Allen
Added Allen: “Music and artists have always been at the center of my world, and the driving force behind every decision I’ve made.
“To have spent 27 years working alongside such extraordinary artists, and the brilliant people who surround them, has been an enormous privilege.”
Allen started her career at the BBC, before joining Universal Music in 1999 as a press assistant.
She later became Director of Media at Decca, and was promoted to General Manager of the label in 2012 and Managing Director in 2014.
Allen was then named President of Decca Records Group UK in 2017.
According to UMG, she was the first woman to lead the label in its history.
In June 2020, Allen was named President of a relaunched EMI Records – a rebrand of Universal Music UK‘s Virgin EMI label.
Jo Charrington joined Allen as Co-President of EMI in 2022.
In July 2024, Universal Music UK unveiled a restructure that merged EMI and Island Records UK into the Island EMI Label Group.
As part of those changes, Allen was named head of a new Audience & Media Division (now Audience, Media & Strategy), serving all of the company’s labels.
She added the Artist Relations team to her remit in 2025, according to UMG UK.
UMG UK‘s announcement of Allen’s promotion in December 2025 cited her work with artists including Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, Loyle Carner, and Olivia Dean.
Allen also chaired the 2018 Classic BRIT Awards and co-chaired the 2021 BRIT Awards.
You can read Rebecca Allen’s email in full below:
To my friends, colleagues and Universal family,
After 27 years at Universal Music, this chapter is coming to an end.
I’ll be stepping away from my current role and, while I’ll remain connected to UMG in an advisory capacity, the time feels right for me to turn the page and make space for a new chapter.
There are, of course, a lot of emotions that come with saying goodbye after so long. Mostly, I feel incredibly fortunate.
Music and artists have always been at the centre of my world, and the driving force behind every decision I’ve made.
To have spent 27 years working alongside such extraordinary artists, and the brilliant people who surround them, has been an enormous privilege.
I’ve always believed that how you do something matters just as much as what you do.
Be kind.
Be respectful.
Be brave.
Continue to push creative boundaries.
Make space for brilliant people to be brilliant.
Fight for the ideas you believe in.
And always put the music and the artist at the heart of everything.
I leave enormously proud of what we’ve created together, grateful for the friendships, the adventures, the lessons and the laughter, and for 27 years that have shaped me in more ways than I probably even realise yet.
It’s been quite a ride.
I can’t thank you all enough for being on this journey with me.
Love to you all.
Becky xxx
“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” A.A. Milne
Music Business Worldwide