When Sabrina Carpenter signed with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) in October 2023, she was coming off the critical and commercial success of her 2022 Island Records debut. Email I can't send, a project that established her as a formidable pop hitmaker with a distinctive voice and seductive appeal. But since that album was released, her career has taken off into the stratosphere, with a string of singles – 'Nonsense' from the original E-mail; “Feather”, which was released on his deluxe E-mail in August 2023; and, most recently, April 2024's 'Espresso' — each charting higher than the last, building her into a mainstream dynamo with song-of-the-summer potential.
It was 'Espresso', however, that has really captured the mood. The song zoomed on the Billboard Hot 100 with a No. 7 debut, eventually peaking at No. 4, but fared even better worldwide, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart — where it spends its second week this week, establishing it as a bona fide international hit. And through the work of her label Island and publishing company UMPG, it marked Carpenter's career-highest chart position — and helped earn UMPG co-head of US A&R and head of UMPG's global creative team David Gray its title Advertising sign's Executive of the Week.
Here, Gray discusses the work UMPG has done with Carpenter in the six months since bringing her to the pubco, what makes her stand out as a songwriter, and the company's global outlook. “She always had a vision of herself as an artist and a songwriter,” Gray says. “It's rewarding to see her succeed on a global level and get all the credit she deserves.”
This week, Sabrina Carpenter's “Espresso” spends its second week at No. 1 on Billboard Global Excl. US chart and its fifth week in the top 10 of the Hot 100. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?
Overall at UMPG, we work to support our songwriters' ideas and decisions in any way we can, whether it's organizing strategic writing sessions or working to secure great sync opportunities worldwide.
Sabrina signed with UMPG last October. What were your first conversations with her like about her music and where she wanted it to go?
Sabrina talked about how the Email I can't send The album was a step up from where she was before and she was ready to take it to the next level from there. She always had a vision for herself as an artist and songwriter. It's rewarding to see her succeed on a global level and get all the credit she deserves.
What sets Sabrina apart from other pop stars as a songwriter and how did you help highlight that?
Sabrina has such a unique and brilliant songwriting voice, both lyrically and melodically. All her years of sessioning, working hard, taking songwriting very seriously and perfecting her craft have made her not only an artist in the writing period… but an A-list songwriter with talent.
For the past two years you have been leading the UMPG global creative team. How has this changed the way you work with songwriters and in what ways does it help your global reach?
At UMPG, we've always recognized that there are amazing writing opportunities for songwriters outside of their own territories. The number and quality of these writing opportunities has accelerated in recent years. The cross-area communication provided by Global Creative Group is essential to ensure our writers get the most out of these opportunities.
How are you preparing to tackle AI in the publishing world?
It's still nascent in the wider creative community, but we know that AI offers opportunities and risks. We embrace AI, like other technological innovations in the past, but only AI technology that is ethical and artist-focused — in other words, only if it supports songwriters and protects their rights.
