Katie Welle has been promoted to president, head of U.S. A&R at Sony Music Publishing, where she has spent the past five years as SVP of Creative. She succeeds Walter Jones, who is leaving the company.

Welle will report from the Los Angeles office to SMP Chairman/CEO Jon Platt, who said, “Katie has an exceptional gift for identifying and nurturing talent. Since she returned to SMP five years ago, she has made significant contributions to our A&R strategy, playing a pivotal role in shaping the success of numerous incredible songwriters."

"It is a huge honor to take on this role at Sony Music Publishing, where I feel incredibly aligned with the standards of greatness we’ve set to serve our songwriters," said Welle. "I’m so thankful to Jon for his leadership and support, and to our superstar A&R team and the phenomenal community of songwriters who inspire us every day."

Welle started her A&R career at Epic in 2005 before coming to SMP, where she rose to VP of Creative before a stint as SVP of A&R at RCA. Her signings have included Tyler, the Creator, Theron Thomas—winner of the 2024 Songwriter of the Year Grammy—Tyler Johnson, Julian Bunetta and Clams Casino.

Sadly, HITS' attempts to get Welle to listen to our trove of home demos have to date been unsuccessful.