Ed Sheeran exits Warner Music after 15 years, eight studio albums

Ed Sheeran has officially ended his long-running partnership with Warner Music after 15 years, marking the close of a major chapter in the artist’s recording career.

The British singer confirmed the split in a message to fans shared via his newsletter, with Warner Music also acknowledging the development in a statement to Music Week.

Sheeran said the decision was not driven by conflict, but by a personal shift in priorities.

“This isn’t a ‘disgruntled artist leaves record label’ type situation,” he wrote. “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 joined Warner Music early in his career and went on to release eight studio albums under the label, beginning with his 2011 debut +.

Over the years, he became one of the most commercially successful artists of the streaming era, with global hits including Shape of Youwhich has accumulated nearly five billion Spotify streams.

His 2017 album Divide stands as one of the biggest releases of the streaming era, while later projects have seen comparatively lower commercial performance, despite continued global touring success and stadium-level audiences.

In the United States, Sheeran has earned four No. 1 albums.

His most recent release, Play (2025), peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, reflecting a slight commercial slowdown compared to his earlier peak years.

Despite the change in label partnership, Sheeran remains one of the most influential and widely streamed artists globally, signalling a potential new phase in his evolving music career.