The National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) held its annual meeting on 11th June at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, New York. Gracie Abrams was honored with the Billboard Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year award, recognizing exceptional songwriting, whilst Aaron Dessner received the Billboard Triple Threat Award recognizing his success as a songwriter, producer and artist.
Photo credit: Loren Matthew Photography, courtesy of NMPA.
Last night the winners of The Ivors with Amazon Music were revealed at the annual awards ceremony held at Grosvenor House, London, recognising and celebrating exceptional achievements in songwriting and screen composing. UMPG artists and writers U2, Robbie Williams and Brandon Flowers were all honoured with special awards.
Universal Music Publishing Group was named Publisher of the Year at the BMI Pop Awards in Los Angeles, with the company representing 28 of the 50 most-performed songs of the past year.
On 1st May the ASCAP family gathered at LA's Petersen Automotive Museum to honor the 2025 ASCAP Pop Music Awards winners – the songwriters and publishers of the biggest hits of the past year. “Culture-shifting songwriter, producer and Bleachers frontman” Jack Antonoff was awarded Pop Music Songwriter of the Year – having co-written hits including Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” (feat. Post Malone) and “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart”, and Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please”.
The nominations for The Ivors with Amazon Music 2025 have been announced, with nominations for UMPG writers Finn Keane, Felix Joseph, Steph Jones (Disney Music Publishing), Linton Kwesi Johnson, Rodney Jerkins, Tobias Jesso Jr., Harry Styles and Kid Harpoon. In addition, UMPG published TV soundtracks for True Detective: Night Country (Vince Pope via HBO), Rivals (Natalie Holt, Jack Halama via Disney Music Group), and film scores The Substance (Raffertie via Universal Pictures) Hard Truths (Gary Yershon via Thin Man Films) were nominated.
Last week She Is The Music held an inaugural 'Women Sharing the Spotlight' event in Los Angeles. At the event UMPG songwriter and artist Gracie Abrams and her female team were honored, along with 50 other impactful women in the music industry. Rooted in the conviction that 'We Are Stronger Together', each honoree was asked to nominate another woman they admire to share the spotlight.
UMPG artists and songwriters Doechii and Gracie Abrams were both honored at the Billboard Women in Music Awards 2025 - held on 29th March at the YouTube Theater, Hollywood Park.
UMPG celebrated outstanding success at the 2025 GRAMMY Awards, representing 15 of Sunday night's Grammy Award winners, who garnered trophies across 19 genre-diverse categories, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. In addition, UMPG Chairman & CEO Jody Gerson received the Recording Academy’s 2025 Industry Icon Award, recognizing her transformative leadership and impact on the music industry.
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has appointed Jamie Kinelski to the position of Senior Vice President of A&R, it was announced today by UMPG Executive Vice President and Head of U.S. A&R Jennifer Knoepfle, to whom Kinelski reports. Kinelski is based in the company’s New York offices. In her new position, Kinelski will sign, develop and guide the evolution of emerging and established songwriters, artists and producers, while further solidifying UMPG’s standing as a frontrunner in cultivating talent. Kinelski will also work closely with Knoepfle to strengthen and expand the company’s U.S. A&R team, fostering its growth and ensuring it continues to attract and support exceptional creative talent.
Universal Music Group’s Global Classics & Jazz (GCJ) division has today announced the appointment of Natasha Baldwin to the newly-created leadership role of President, Global Classics, Jazz & Screen, effective immediately. This title reflects her unique dual position: she will continue her work within Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), where she is currently Executive Vice President of Classics & Screen, leading UMPG’s global classical and screen composer businesses.
She will also take on an expanded remit for GCJ’s world-leading classical and jazz record labels including Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Blue Note, Verve, Hyperion and ECM. Baldwin will oversee the international strategy for GCJ’s exceptional roster of artists which includes Andrea Bocelli, Max Richter, Jon Batiste, Samara Joy, Ludovico Einaudi, Lang Lang, Lise Davidsen and many more.