Adele is now officially a major label artist in the UK.
The singer will launch her next album campaign with Columbia Records on Friday (October 15) with the release of the single Easy On Me.
Updated: Adele has also confirmed in an Instagram post that her fourth album, 30, will be released on November 19.
30 - November 19 pic.twitter.com/vp6ornlda2
— Adele (@Adele) October 13, 2021
It marks a new chapter in the career of Adele in her home market, where she had long been an independent artist signed to XL Recordings, part of Beggars Group.
Although there has been little in the way of official announcements, as expected Adele will release new music on Columbia UK in line with the US, where XL/Beggars previously partnered with the major.
Adele’s contract with XL expired after the release of her third album, 25. The singer’s manager Jonathan Dickins then signed a global deal with Sony Music reportedly worth £90 million, although there has never been a formal announcement about her move.
This week Columbia UK becomes Adele’s UK label home, where she joins Harry Styles, whose sophomore album Fine Line has consistently been Sony Music’s biggest seller globally since late 2019.
Adele mentioned Styles during an Instagram Live fan Q&A at the weekend. "Yes I do know Harry,” said Adele. “He's great, he's lovely, he's a very, very sweet boy."
Columbia UK and its president Ferdy Unger-Hamilton have shared Adele content on their channels including the Vogue covers and the single artwork.
The move to Columbia is set to be a market share boost for the label, which finished last year in sixth position with a 5.7% share of All Music (AES) based on streams and sales.
As Adele says “Hello” to Columbia, she also waves goodbye to XL Recordings and Beggars for new recordings. But the indie will still generate considerable revenues from the catalogue, which is back in the Top 20 following the return of Adele.
Adele’s 2015 album 25 has 50,563 sales (including 45,836 from streams) so far this year, according to the Official Charts Company. Total UK sales are 3,700,705.
Adele’s 2011 LP 21 has UK sales of 5,286,232 (including 46,602 so far this year. Her debut album 19, released in 2008, is just shy of 2.5 million UK sales (including 21,371 this year).
According to documents lodged at Companies House, XL Recordings’ revenues were stable for 2020 at £38,669,617 (down 0.9%). Profits were up 17.2% at £5,952,062.
Beggars Group revenues were down 2.3% at £61,655,617, while operating profit was up 77.4% at £6,487,271.
Subscribers can revisit the huge 25 campaign here.
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