 | This article contains promotional content .(October 2024) |
David Joseph CBE is a senior executive who has been at the forefront of the UK music industry for over 20 years. [1] He holds a number of charitable non-executive positions, including Chair of the Grenfell Foundation [2] . Between 2008-2024 he was Chairman & CEO of Universal Music UK, and a member of Arts Council England's National Council from 2013-2021.
David Joseph held the role of Chairman & CEO of Universal Music UK between 2008-2024. [3] He joined the company in August 1998 as general manager of the company's Polydor label before moving up in February 2002 to become managing director and later co-president of Polydor. In March 2008, he was promoted to chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK since when he oversees the labels 0207 Def Jam, Island, Polydor, Capitol, Decca and EMI, as well as the world's most famous recording studios Abbey Road. [4] Universal Music UK is home to successful artists from across the musical spectrum including The Rolling Stones, Elton John, U2, Florence + The Machine, Mumford & Sons, Take That, The 1975, Sam Smith, Stormzy, Sam Fender, Dave, Lewis Capaldi, Michael Kiwanuka, Years & Years, Bastille, Ellie Goulding, Nicola Benedetti, and Celeste. It also releases the music of global superstars such as Drake, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, and Rihanna. Its catalogue includes the music of Abba, The Beatles and Queen. [5] Prior to joining Universal Music, Joseph was at RCA where he was head of artist development, working with artists including Take That, Kylie Minogue and Annie Lennox.
In 2005, Joseph became a member of the BPI Council and for three years from 2010 was chairman of the Brits Committee, which oversees the Brit Awards. [6] As reported in The Guardian in 2011, [7] Joseph oversaw an overhaul of the Brit Awards, moving it to the O2 and giving prime-time television exposure to acts such as Arcade Fire and Mumford & Sons, as well as Adele's acoustic performance of "Someone Like You". [7] 2012's show attracted its biggest television audience since 2005. [8] In 2013 Joseph worked with Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon to gather music industry support for Unity, the O2 concert marking the 20th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's murder. [9] In September 2013 he was appointed as a member of the council of Arts Council England where he served two terms. [10]
In 2015, Joseph became the executive producer of Amy , the documentary film about the late singer Amy Winehouse, directed by Asif Kapadia. Amy became the highest-grossing British documentary of all time, taking £3 million at the box office in its first weekend and has won many awards, among them Best Documentary at the 69th British Academy Film Awards, Best Music Film at the 58th Grammy Awards and the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 88th Academy Awards.[9]
Joseph was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to the music industry. [11]
In 2017, Joseph became a trustee and Vice Chair of the Grenfell Foundation, an organisation which supports survivors, bereaved families and the community to remember the event of 14 June 2017 and to keep the memory of their loved ones in hearts and minds. [12] Joseph was appointed Chair of the organisation in December 2024 [13] .
Joseph gave the lead interview in the first edition of Music Business UK, the new quarterly title from Music Business Worldwide. [14]
In 2019, Joseph gave an interview in the Evening Standard on the importance of embracing neurodiversity in the workplace. [15] The following year he launched Universal Music’s Creative Differences project, led by the publication of the first handbook for embracing neurodiversity in the creative industries, which was widely covered across BBC networks. [16]
In 2020, Joseph oversaw another successful overhaul of the BRIT Awards, which included standout performances from the likes of Dave, Stormzy and Celeste. As reported in Billboard, the show was met with “widespread praise from the UK music industry, with many observers hailing at it as the best BRITs in years”. [17]
In 2021, Joseph became an ambassador for the Autism Centre of Excellence (ACE) at Cambridge University. [18]
In 2022, Joseph spoke at the launch of the Power Of Music report [19] hosted at Universal Music UK’s offices. [20] The report outlines a blueprint to use music to help transform communities and improve the nation’s health and wellbeing. It includes a commitment from Universal Music UK to develop a dynamic online resource which will serve as a music and dementia information hub. In 2023, Joseph spoke at the follow up event, also held at Universal Music UK’s offices, which saw The National Academy For Social Prescribing launch The Power of Music Fund and the Music Can digital platform, both of which are aimed at bringing the proven benefits of music to people living with dementia and their carers. [21]
At the end of 2023, Joseph discussed supporting neurodiversity in the workplace as a guest on Professor Jason Arday’s Christmas edit of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. [22]
Joseph announced in September 2024 that he would be stepping down as Chairman & CEO of Universal Music UK after 26 years at the company. He is now studying for a Master's in Religion & Theology at King's College London. [23]
Robert Peter Williams is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, Life thru a Lens, was released in 1997, and included his best-selling single "Angels". His second album, I've Been Expecting You, featured the songs "Millennium" and "She's the One", his first number one singles. His discography includes seven UK No. 1 singles, and all but one of his 14 studio albums have reached No. 1 in the UK. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the UK, with two of them in the top 60, and he gained a Guinness World Record in 2006 for selling 1.6 million tickets in a single day during his Close Encounters Tour.
Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. In turn, Polydor distributes Interscope releases in the United Kingdom. Polydor Records Ltd. was established in London in 1954 as a British subsidiary of German company Deutsche Grammophon/Schallplatte Grammophon GmbH. It was renamed Polydor Ltd. in 1972. The company is usually mentioned as "Polydor Ltd. (UK)", or a similar form, for holding copyrights.
The BRIT Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trusts Show. The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry's trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event. In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic BRIT Awards, was held annually between 2000 and 2013, before being revived in 2018 but has not been held since.
Daniel John Bedingfield is a New Zealand-British singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. His debut studio album, Gotta Get thru This (2002), spawned three UK number ones, "Gotta Get thru This", "If You're Not the One" and "Never Gonna Leave Your Side", and sold 1.6 million copies in that country. His second album, Second First Impression, was released in 2004. Bedingfield was a judge on The X Factor New Zealand in 2013. He has written songs for other artists and has acted in the West End theatre in London, UK.
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Sony Entertainment and managed by the American umbrella division of multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the publishing division, Sony Music Publishing.
Hip-O Records is a record label that specializes in reissues and compilations. It is part of Universal Music Group. Established in 1996, the label has distributed releases from 'out of style' genres such as disco and early hip-hop music as well as publishing film soundtracks. The label's name is a pun on the name 'hippo'.
James Andrew Reed, CCMI, FCIPD is a British businessman. He is chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Reed group of companies. He is the son of Sir Alec Reed, who founded the company in 1960. He is chairman of The Big Give Trust, a match-funding charity supported in part by the Reed Foundation and the Reed family. The Big Give has raised over £346 million for UK-registered charities, with a target of £1 billion by 2030.
Rosa Isabel Mutya Buena is an English singer and songwriter who rose to fame as a member of girl group Sugababes. With Sugababes, Buena had four UK number-one singles, an additional six top-ten hits and three multi-platinum albums. After leaving the group in December 2005, she released her debut solo album, Real Girl in June 2007, which reached the top-ten in the UK and was certified Gold by the BPI. Buena returned to Sugababes with the original line-up in 2012.
The discography of British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud consists of five studio albums, two compilation albums, twenty-four singles, one promotional single, two live albums, one remix album, two box sets, eleven video albums and twenty-five music videos.
Sir Lucian Charles Grainge is a British record executive who has served as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Universal Music Group since 2010. Beginning as an A&R staffer in the late 1970s, Grainge has worked in the music industry his entire career. Billboard magazine named him the most powerful person in the music business on four occasions in the 2010s, and was named the inaugural Executive of the Decade in 2020.
Michael Samuel Kiwanuka is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is currently signed to Polydor Records. His debut album Home Again (2012) went gold in the United Kingdom, while his second album Love & Hate (2016) debuted at the top of the charts. He has been nominated for numerous honours, including Brit Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, BBC Music Awards, and Grammy Awards. He won the BBC's Sound of... in 2012 and the Mercury Prize in 2020. His most recent album, Small Changes, was released in November 2024.
Rebecca Claire Hill is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame after appearing on the first series of The Voice UK, auditioning with John Legend's "Ordinary People". She joined Jessie J's team and reached the semi-final of the competition.
Camille Angelina Purcell, known professionally as Kamille, is a British singer-songwriter and record producer.
Virgin EMI Records was a British record label owned by the Universal Music Group that was formed in 2013. In June 2020, the label was rebranded as EMI Records, and operates Virgin Records as an imprint of the new EMI Records.
Max Lousada is CEO of Recorded Music for Warner Music Group. He previously was the chairman and CEO of Warner Music UK where he found success working with artists such as Ed Sheeran and Dua Lipa. Before moving over to Warner Music UK in 2013, Lousada was successively head of A&R, managing director, president, then chairman of Atlantic Records UK.
Jason Iley is the current Chairman and CEO of Sony Music UK. Formerly President of Roc Nation Records and the UK chief of Mercury Records, Iley currently heads up all of Sony Music's activities in the UK and Ireland, overseeing Sony Music's frontline and imprint labels across the region, including the operations of Columbia, Epic, RCA, Commercial Group, Relentless, Insanity, Since '93, 5K and Robots + Humans. Iley was instrumental in Sony Music UK's acquisition of Ministry Of Sound Recordings.
UMG Philippines Inc. is a record label based in the Philippines and served as its regional branch of the multinational music corporation, Universal Music Group. Formerly known as MCA Music, the record label previously retained the now-discontinued MCA name on legal purposes because of a trademark dispute with an unrelated label known as Universal Records, which preempted the rights to the word "Universal" for recorded music in the Philippines. However, the company adopted the moniker "MCA/Universal", much like Universal Pictures' home video unit from 1990 to 1997, to simplify identification, even though no formal "Universal" branding is exercised. Despite the naming, the label is known outside the Philippines as Universal Music Philippines.
Rachel Agatha Keen, known professionally as Raye, is an English singer and songwriter. She first rose to prominence after signing with Polydor Records, and later her 2016 collaborations, "By Your Side" and "You Don't Know Me" with Jonas Blue and Jax Jones respectively. She also gained media attention following her departure from Polydor after the label allegedly refused to release her debut album.
Grace Barker, known professionally as Gracey, is an English singer who made her breakthrough in 2020 when she collaborated with 220 KID on the BRIT nominated single "Don't Need Love". The song reached a peak of number 9 for two weeks on the UK Singles Chart.