Ed Sheeran to launch record label

Singer Ed Sheeran plans to launch his own record label and he wants to promote new talent under his label.

The "Thinking out loud" hitmaker has signed a deal with Warner, which will house his company and already has an idea who he wants to offer recording contracts to, reports contactmusic.com.

"The door has now been opened. I've set up the label and I'm going to start signing people. It'll be an imprint that goes through Warner. But I'll get the rights back in about ten years," he told The Sun.

"I've got my first signing in mind. I'm looking at people like me, who came through the singer-songwriter scene," the 23-year-old said.

Sheeran thinks he is in a "fortunate" position to be able to help new artists.

"There are people on that scene who make me look terrible by just being so good. They haven't got the right platform. I have a tour and Twitter, so I can put them in front of my fans instantly. I can sit down with heads of radio stations and ask whether they'll play it on the radio. I'm in a really fortunate position to be able to break acts," he said.