David Joseph is the chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK.

Biography

David Joseph is Chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK. 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 Polydor Records Ltd. 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 March 2008, he was promoted to chairman and CEO of Universal Music UK since when he oversees the labels 0207 Def Jam,

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, Polydor, Capitol, Decca and EMI, as well as the world's most famous recording studios Abbey Road. Universal Music UK is home to successful artists from across the musical spectrum including

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, Elton John, U2,

Florence + The Machine Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, k ...

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

The 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in 2002 in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Now based in Manchester, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matthew "Matty" Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer ...

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

, Stormzy,

Sam Fender Samuel Thomas Fender (born 25 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is known for his high tenor voice and thick Geordie accent, layered over music characterised by a roots-orientated rock approach. Fender's sound relies ...

, Dave,

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi ( ; born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards. In March 2019, his single " Someone You Loved" topped the UK Singles Chart wher ...

Michael Kiwanuka Michael Samuel Kiwanuka (born 3 May 1987) is a British singer-songwriter and record producer who is signed with Polydor Records. His 2012 debut album, '' Home Again'', went gold in the United Kingdom and his second album, '' Love & Hate'', debu ...

Years & Years Years & Years is the solo project of British singer Olly Alexander. Originally formed as a band in 2010, Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, '' Communion'', ...

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

, Ellie Goulding,

Nicola Benedetti Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti (born 20 July 1987) is an Italian-British classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She w ...

, and Celeste. It also releases the music of global superstars such as

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

, Ariana Grande,

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single " Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her brother Finneas O'Connell, with whom ...

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

, Eminem,

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

, and Rihanna. Its catalogue includes the music of Abba, The Beatles and Queen. Prior to joining Universal Music, Joseph was at

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

where he was head of artist development, working with artists including

, 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 The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

. As reported in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in 2011, 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". 2012's show attracted its biggest television audience since 2005. 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 Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

's murder. In September 2013 he was appointed as a member of the council of Arts Council England. In 2015, Joseph became the executive producer of '' Amy'', the documentary film about the late singer

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

, directed by

Asif Kapadia Asif Kapadia (born 1972) is a British filmmaker. Academy Award, BAFTA and Grammy winning director Asif Kapadia has made his name directing visually striking films exploring ‘outsiders’, characters living in extreme circumstances, fighting ...

. 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. Joseph was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to the music industry. 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. Joseph gave the lead interview in the first edition of Music Business UK, the new quarterly title from Music Business Worldwide. In 2019, Joseph gave an interview in the Evening Standard on the importance of embracing neurodiversity in the workplace. The following year he launched Universal Music’
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. 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”. In 2021, Joseph became an ambassador for the Autism Centre of Excellence (ACE) at Cambridge University. In 2022, Joseph spoke at the launch of the Power Of Music report hosted at Universal Music UK’s offices. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, David Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) People educated at JFS (school) British chief executives British Jews British music industry executives Commanders of the Order of the British Empire