Pagano photographed
by Yuri Hasegawa
on Oct 4 at Artist
Publishing Group
in Los Angeles.
“Songs do not climb the charts and
reach mega-success by themselves.
Angie and the APG A&R team keep
the roster small enough to focus on
each talent. They are a wonderful
creative team that helps nurture the
songs from conception to consumption.”
—MADISON LOVE
THE LEGACY
“High Hopes” spent 15 weeks at No. 1
on the Adult Pop Songs chart.
“Sweet but Psycho” held at No. 1
in the United Kingdom for four
weeks and peaked at No. 10 in
the United States in June.
“Without Me” has spent over an
entire calendar year on the Hot 100.
Angie Pagano
GM, ARTIST PUBLISHING GROUP; SENIOR VP,
ARTIST PARTNER GROUP
(^)
Since 2014, Pagano has led
operations, business affairs
and A&R for the Warner Music
Group-funded publishing startup. A
Billboard Women in Music honoree
in 2016 and 2018, she kicked off her
2019 by watching a handful of APG
songwriters score No. 1s on various
charts: Cook Classics (Panic! at the
Disco’s “High Hopes” on Billboard’s
Adult Top 40 Airplay), Amy Allen
(Ava Max’s “Sweet but Psycho,”
Official U.K. Singles chart) and
Madison Love (Halsey’s “Without
Me,” Billboard Hot 100). Pagano
looks back on the trio of hits.
APG’s A&R staff includes former
producers and DJs. They’re
very creative individuals who
can speak the language, both in
creating records and handling
publishing clients.
We keep the roster small to
allow for highly focused attention.
We treat our writers and producers
as artists and always make sure
that they’re getting all the needs
of their creative toolbox met. Our
A&Rs care about the life span of
their songs and where they go.
They are perfectionists.
All three of these songwriters
always put in the work. Madison
has been in the studio five days a
week every week. This was Amy’s
second big release. And with Cook
Classics and “High Hopes,” they
hit not only at alternative, but
at [adult contemporary] and the
Hot 100 — across all formats.
On each side of the company,
to see both young executives and
young writers have their first suc-
cesses, whether it’s an A&R’s first
signing or a writer’s first cut or
Billboard chart achievement, it’s
incredible to be a part of. To get
three No. 1s was a huge charge
into the year. Starting so strong
really led the staff to perform at
their highest capacity. Yes, hits
do beget more hits, as they open
up more doors. But nothing is
guaranteed, so even if you get
into those rooms, you really need
to show up for work every day.
—AS TOLD TO NICK WILLIAMS
My Billboard Moment
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96 BILLBOARD • OCTOBER 19, 2019