Katie Welle, currently Senior Vice President of Creative A&R at Sony Music Publishing, has created an impressive list of success stories throughout her career.
Her highlights include working closely with hip-hop group Odd Future in their early days and more recently signing hit songwriter Charlie Handsome, co-writer of Post Malone’s Billboard Hot 100 No.1 i got some helpetc.
Welle signs her first SMP deal with Jeff Bhasker, the Grammy-winning producer and songwriter known for his work with artists including Kanye West, Harry Styles and Jay-Z, as well as prominent pop music writer J. Known for his collaborations with Kash, Tyler Johnson and Mikky Ekko. One of her latest signings is Teezo Touchdown, who has featured on songs by Tyler, the Creator, Travis Scott and Drake.
Weller grew up in Indiana and had no idea there was a music industry there. So, although she was an avid music fan and obsessed with music, she thought she should do something else and decided to pursue a career in international relations.
However, after meeting an A&R who worked at Epic Records and realizing that A&R jobs were real, she found a way to connect and get an internship based on her taste in music.
Soon, Welle found a job as an assistant, traveling to Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip to attend five shows a week, meet other A&Rs and get involved in the community. The first artist she signed was Hitmaka, then known as Yung Berg, and her career path was set.
Welle recalls, “My boss at the time was Keith Naftaly at Epic Records, and I always said, ‘I want to do A&R.'” The best advice he ever gave me was, “Well, no one’s going to stop you.” To this day I’m still thinking about it. This is what A&R is all about. This is entrepreneurial. You have to start your own business, create your own event, and have a vision to make it happen. You just have to go out and do it.
After leaving Epic, Welle moved to Sony Publishing and then aspired to return to a record label for a more senior position where she could experience what it was like to put together a release from start to finish and discover new artists.
Before Welle returned to Sony Publishing in 2020, he spent six years at RCA Records.
Here, we chat with her about her career, lessons learned along the way, the evolution of publishing, and more.
Four years ago you returned to music publishing after a stint at a record label. What do you enjoy most about your job?
I really enjoy being a music publisher. At the end of the day, no matter what script I’m working on, if there’s a Sony writer involved, and it could be someone signed on from anywhere in the world, I’m going to do something that’s good for them and their part; I’m doing my job. This leaves endless possibilities for all the exciting things happening in music.
I also feel like I can really fit into the DNA of the music. Even if I’m not the A&R for a particular artist, it doesn’t matter, I can make an impact through the songs, sessions, and connections with the songwriters and other artists I work with. It’s so fun to watch the musical landscape and know that I had an influence on these releases in some way.
What is your A&R approach? How do you get the most out of the creatives you’re working with?
A lot of times I think of it as coaching. Our main job is to bring opportunities to them and help add value to their careers, but the other side of that is providing advice on how best to handle situations, manage relationships, make the most of opportunities or help them understand their potential is missing.
Let’s say we schedule a meeting and I might say, “I think the best results might come from handling it this way” or “This person is really good at this, so let them lead there” and “I think you’ll Helpful” by executing XYZ’.
Can you pinpoint the most important lessons you’ve learned in the various roles you’ve held throughout your career?
When you first start out and don’t really understand all the obstacles that exist, you will fearlessly overcome them, regardless of whether some authority figure contradicts or disagrees with you.
It’s a tough industry and you can get frustrated as you go through it. Looking back now, this is what I tried to instill in myself. There are always surprises and examples of new artists breaking through in the music industry. The ongoing destruction is so inspiring.
Who knew Kendrick and Drake would shake things up this year, changing charts and what people were talking about. This is to keep the spirit of possibility alive. Also, trust yourself and know that in most cases, if I really like a song or the artist really speaks to me, other people will feel the same way.
It appears things are changing now, but historically A&R has been a male-dominated field and a difficult job for women to break into. Is this your experience?
Many times, I realized I was the only woman in the room, but I never really saw it as a hindrance. I think we just keep hanging on and try not to focus too much on things that may feel like walls. My most profound experiences were during pregnancy and in the studio. I definitely stood out. But even then I always felt welcome.
“The areas that need work haven’t changed, and that’s women in production roles.”
Now, I’m surrounded by more female colleagues, although that may be because I work in publishing, where there are more female creatives. There are increasing examples of women in leadership positions. It’s an incredible time to be a female artist right now. What hasn’t changed is the space where work is needed, and that’s for women in production roles.
Do you have any answers on how to change this?
In terms of support skills, it starts early. I meet a lot of young people who say, “I’m a producer and I want to make music,” and there are very few women who come to me with that kind of ambition. Part of that starts early on, giving them more examples of people they can look up to. The future will require new generations to build on this foundation until we actually see any progress.
How do you see the role of publishers evolving? Do you see any changes happening?
What happens in publishing is that meetings and creative work are very much in the hands of publishers, which is why I’m best suited as a publisher. While record labels will definitely be involved, they have a lot of other things to deal with when it comes to distribution.
Publishers are becoming the first step in songwriting. It’s always fluctuating, but a lot of artists are self-sufficient and they don’t always look for their own labels to provide them with songs. So, as publishers, we have this understanding of what’s going on in the studio, which is, “This guy plays drums great”; “This guy has great melodies”; “This guy has great lyrics.” Previously, the label A&R was even more involved.
What is the most exciting development in the music industry today?
Barriers to entry for streaming. You could be a kid from Indiana like I was, but it wasn’t within my reach then. Now you can hear a song from Brazil or Nigeria and it might be your favorite song in the world; you’re exposed to so much. This results in artists and fans taking power, which impacts the landscape more than anything else.
What is the most challenging thing about working in the music industry today?
The other side is the sheer volume, what it takes to cut through, the attention span and what the artist has to keep up with in terms of visibility. Once you release a song, you basically have to compete with all the songs and catalogs in the world. It’s all compounded to attract attention.
In what ways are you helping the writers and artists you work with overcome all of these issues?
For us, fundamentally, our job is to put our songwriters and artists in the best possible environment so they can produce their best work. This comes from being very strategic about and listening to their needs and what can support them. Sometimes they need space to write on their own until someone is needed.
“It’s very strategic and connects the right dots.”
Other times, it means choosing from among the millions of producers and artists in the world, the ones we think will be successful or truly fulfilling. This is very strategic and connects the right dots.
How will the music industry change?
Normalizing women as creative masters rather than exceptions to the rule. We see this with artists, but we also see it with underperforming producer roles. At the same time, give artists the patience to grow. If the first album or song they release doesn’t chart immediately, be patient and wait for them to grow and develop.
If you could go back to the beginning of your career and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?
I see this with the executives I work with today, they all want to get to know the head of each company and the CEO, and those are great relationships, but really, when you and your colleagues are Together, you can make magical things happen. The power in these relationships will last a long time as you grow together.
What are your future plans and ambitions?
My focus is always on what I’m doing right now, and whatever it is that I have to do today or this year, I just want to do it well. That always leads to the next best thing or a lot of opportunities. Also, I’m grateful [Sony Music Publishing CEO] Jon Platt for his belief and encouragement in me as a leader. Another thing I’m working on right now is doing my best to be a leader and mentor to others.
Virgin Music Group It is the global independent music division of Universal Music Group, which brings together Universal Music Group’s record labels and artist services businesses, including Virgin and Ingrooves.global music business
