'No Singles, No Videos': Ed Sheeran’s Odd Marketing Plan For First Indie Release

Ed Sheeran has changed how he releases music for his new album, Autumn Variations.

Not only has he gone for an indie sound (alongside producer Aaron Dessler of The National fame), but he’s also followed the independent route, releasing the new album via his label Gingerbread Man Records.

The first release under his independent record label, Sheeran has also turned away from the traditional way he’s promoted albums in the past, shying away from music videos and featuring on nighttime television.

“Each record before I’ve done all the big going in and doing all these radio interviews, and going on the late-night shows, and doing all this stuff,” Sheeran said on CBS Mornings on the day Autumn Variations was released (29 September).

“And this record, there’s not even a single for it. There’s not; there’s not a music video. I’m just putting it out.”

He continued to explain that going independent took the pressure off his shoulders; Sheeran could go from the biggest star in the world, a big-budget pop star, to whoever he wanted to be.

“I wanna put out an independent record,” he admitted. “And also, I’ve had 12, 13 years of being a pop star, and having the pressure of it has to sell this week one, you have to have this hit single, you have to have this. And part of me goes, ‘Why?’”

Sheeran added, “Everything has to be the biggest and best every time and then better the next time.” That’s why going independent has removed some of the pressure he often faces. “There are no expectations because there’s no company. You have to live with it. You have to be like, ‘I don’t care what people think.’”

You can watch the interview here.

Sheeran announced that he’d be releasing Autumn Variations ten days after The Sun reported that the Shape Of You hitmaker had a new album completed and was readying it for a September release.

In a press release, Sheeran said about the new album, “When I went through a difficult time at the start of last year, writing songs helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with what was going on, and when I learned about my friend’s different situations, I wrote songs, some from their perspectives, some from mine, to capture how they and I viewed the world at that time.

“There were highs of falling in love and new friendships among lows of heartbreak, depression, loneliness and confusion.”

You can read The Music’s review of Autumn Variations here.