Music Industry Moves: UMPG Signs Julia Michaels; BMG Goes Green

+ South Carolina music production company MP Productions has announced the launch of TrueScale Records. The Black-owned label is headed by Phillip Michael Gilchrist and plans to encompass a cross-section of genres and artists including pop, country, R&B, gospel and classical music. Said Gilchrist: “Returning the art of music back to its roots … is our mission.”

Julia Michaels, the songwriter whose hit songs include Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and Selena Gomez’s “Lose You to Love Me,” has signed an exclusive global deal with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG). Michaels is also a recording artist signed to Republic Records, which issued the multi-platinum single “Issues” in 2017.

Michaels’ track record as a writer — she’s credited on 25 tracks that have charted on the Billboard Hot 100 — includes Hailee Steinfeld’s “Love Myself,” Gomez’s “Hands to Myself” and “Bad Liar” and Nick Jonas’ “Close.”