Pop
Ed Sheeran quits Warner Music after 15 years
Ed Sheeran is leaving the label he's called home for the past 15 years.
Ed Sheeran has announced he has officially left Asylum/Warner Music after 15 years, calling time on the partnership that took him from pub‑gig hopeful to one of the world’s biggest artists.
The 35-year-old singer reflected on the unlikely beginnings of his relationship with the label, recalling how he first met Asylum’s Ed Howard at a small Notting Hill show when he was 18 - without realising he was talking to a record executive.
Sheeran said he ended up crashing on Howard’s sofa, playing him early songs and talking about his ambitions, only discovering the next day that Howard worked at a label.
The Shape of You hitmaker said Howard and then‑Asylum boss Ben Cook continued turning up to his tiny pub gigs long before he had an audience, and when his independent No.5 Collaborations Project EP landed him a record deal, he “signed instantly”.
Looking back on the years that followed, Sheeran said the partnership shaped both his career and his life. “
He said in a statement: "Over the last 15 years, I’ve put out so much music and had so much success with that company. We’ve built something amazing together and enjoyed such life‑changing stuff happening to us."
But the father-of-two admitted he has felt a shift coming for some time.
He continued: “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… it’s a lot to get your head around.”
Sheeran confirmed he made the decision to leave Asylum/Warner last month, stressing the move was not driven by conflict.
He said: “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‑two man who exists now, who feels like he needs a shift.”
He thanked the teams across Warner worldwide and said the door remains open for future collaborations.
Ed Howard paid tribute to Sheeran in a personal statement, saying: “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.”
He praised Sheeran not only as an artist but as a mentor, father and friend, adding: “I feel incredibly grateful to have him in my life. Big love brother.”
Warner Music is “proud to have supported Ed through his discovery and remarkable rise” and vowed to continue to steward his catalogue.
A statement read: “Everyone in the Warner Music family wishes Ed the very best as he embarks on the next chapter of his extraordinary artistic journey."
Sheeran's most recent album on Warner was 2025's Play.
