UMPG Joel Little

Photo Credit: Jennifer Knoepfle, Joel Little, Ashley Page (UMPG)

Universal Music Publishing Group has signed Grammy-winning songwriter, producer, and musician Joel Little to an exclusive worldwide publishing deal.

Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) has announced the signing of Grammy Award-winning songwriter, producer, and musician Joel Little to an exclusive worldwide music publishing administration agreement. Little is widely recognized for his collaborations with a diverse array of artists—including Lorde, Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan, Khalid, Imagine Dragons, Gracie Abrams, and James Bay. His songs have amassed over 25 billion global streams to date.

“I’m thrilled to begin the next chapter of my career with the incredible team at UMPG,” said Little. “It’s especially meaningful to reunite with Jennifer Knoepfle, who has been such an integral part of my journey and success over the years. I’m excited to see where we can go from here.”

UMPG Executive Vice President and Head of U.S. A&R Jennifer Knoepfle added, “I’m so excited to be back working with the talented writer/producer Joel Little. From 12 years ago when we first crossed paths, it’s been a wonderful and fruitful creative partnership that only continues to grow. Joel’s works have touched so many people’s lives, including mine, and I am beyond excited to explore this new chapter with our UMPG team. It’s also a sweet homecoming for Joel to reunite with UMPG Australia’s Head of A&R, Maree Hamblion, who was his first publisher.”

Little achieved his first major career milestone in 2014 when “Royals,” for which he produced the recording and co-wrote the song with Lorde, earned the Grammy for Song of the Year. In the same year, he received the Outstanding International Achievement Award at Australia’s APRA Awards, and the Most Performed Song honor for “Royals” at the ASCAP Pop Awards. The track spent nine weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2015, Little earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song for Lorde’s “Yellow Flicker Beat,” featured on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1 soundtrack. In 2019, he co-wrote and co-produced several standout hits on Taylor Swift’s Lover, including “You Need to Calm Down,” “The Man,” and “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince.”

Little produced three tracks on Khalid’s 2017 debut album, American Teen, including “Young Dumb & Broke,” which spent 11 weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B chart. Between that track and Lorde’s “Royals,” Little has earned two of only 172 RIAA Diamond Awards ever issued in the U.S.

In 2023, Little served as executive producer, co-writer, and producer on Niall Horan’s album, The Show, contributing to eight of the album’s ten tracks. The album debuted at #1 in eight countries.

Little’s influential output continues with recent work on projects by Maren Morris, Vance Joy, and Tove Loe. He is managed by Ashley Page’s Page 1 Management.