Hannah Neaves named President of Universal Music Recordings

03 July 2024 - Press release

 

Universal Music UK Chairman David Joseph has today announced Hannah Neaves as President of Universal Music Recordings, the award-winning catalogue division of the UK’s leading music company.

Neaves’ promotion comes as UMR is having a golden run creating culture-defining moments for some of the best-loved artists of all time. In the past year alone the division’s work has driven new, young audiences globally for the music of Amy Winehouse, Elton John, Florence & The Machine, The Rolling Stones, The Spice Girls, Sam Smith and Bob Marley, with its award-winning work for The Beatles’ Now And Then release driving headlines around the world.

This period of success has been recognised by the Music Week Awards, with UMR winning the coveted Catalogue Marketing Campaign three years running for Spice Girls (2022), ABBA (2023) and The Beatles (2024).

Neaves takes charge two years after returning to Universal Music in 2022, initially to lead UMR as co-President, following a series of high-profile label and management roles.

David Joseph, Chairman and CEO, Universal Music UK says, “Hannah is, first and foremost, an artist person with an innate understanding of where creativity and discovery meet, something she has brought in abundance since re-joining our team. A truly exceptional and inspiring executive, Hannah has already had huge success, most recently creatively leading the global and record-breaking Now And Then campaign for The Beatles, and there’s so much more to come. 

Hannah Neaves, President, UMR says, “I am enormously proud of everything the brilliant and successful team at UMR has already achieved, and feel privileged to be continuing the great work with the best artists in the world.”

In her 23-year career in music, Neaves has played a pivotal role in the stories of Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Ellie Goulding and James Blake among many others. She joined the industry as an intern at EMI before rising to Head of Artist Development at Polydor then spending several years as Marketing Director at Atlantic Records where she worked on Ed Sheeran’s Divide album campaign. She then made the switch to artist management, joining TaP Music as Head of Artist Development & Marketing, overseeing the album marketing and creative for Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia.