Hidden Gems: Meet Katie Fagan of Prescription Songs

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Fagan.

Hi Katie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am originally from Indiana – born and raised – and moved to LA after graduating from Indiana University in 2010. After a short internship at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing and a quick assistant job in PR, I found my way to Prescription Songs as Dr. Luke’s assistant at the beginning of 2011. Since then, I have been working my way up and quickly learned that A&R and publishing were where I wanted to be. I inherited some amazing songwriters and producers and started signing my own talent over the years. After almost seven years in LA, I made my way to Nashville at the end of 2016 to open up Prescription’s second office and start building a team and roster here. We now have five employees here and almost 30 songwriters who are Nashville based.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not smooth at all! Bumpy, curvy, uphill, downhill all of the above. But usually, those curveballs mean you are doing something right. I moved here to focus on the music scene happening here that is (and was) growing outside of the country music genre. That, in and of itself, has been a crazy challenge – just trying to shout from the rooftops that all kinds of music exist here. The first challenge was moving and “coming in peace” and making sure the music community here knew I wasn’t just a person moving from LA trying to overtake the industry. I always positioned myself as an ally to my country music counterparts – that I wanted to help be a bridge into Los Angeles. The bottom line is that a good song is a good song, no matter where it comes from. But there’s an automatic judgment on any piece from this city when sent to LA – people assume it will be country or country leaning. But I hope our presence here has helped and will continue to change that.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Prescription Songs is a music publishing company, meaning we are the home to hit songwriters who have written many of the songs you have heard on the radio for the past fifteen years. The company was co-founded by hitmaker Dr. Luke, a songwriter, and producer who has written numerous #1 hits such as “Party In The USA” by Miley Cyrus, “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry, and more recently, “Say So” by Doja Cat. We sign and develop songwriters, producers, and artists as a publishing company. Our first office opened in Los Angeles about twelve years ago, and I opened our office in Nashville in 2016 to sign talent based here that was outside of the country music genre. We have succeeded not only in helping to grow our roster of songwriters, but we have helped the non-country community at large, bridging the gap between Nashville and Los Angeles. We have writers who now work in all genres, which was always the end goal, as Nashville is a songwriting town first and foremost beneath genre. Some of our writers include singer/songwriter, producer, and artist, Joy Oladokun (now signed to Verve/Republic Records as an artist as well), Nick Bailey (who has written songs for Demi Lovato, Marshmello, Maroon 5, Blake Shelton), Sean Small (who has produced/written songs for Lizzo, Keith Urban, Breland, Pitbull), and Anna Mae (who has had massive success having her music placed in film and TV, such as Orange Is The New Black, The Good Doctor, and Riverdale). Unlike many music companies, we sign writers based on what we love, not what is trending or ‘going viral.’ It means we put passion first and foremost and love to develop from the ground up.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Nashville is a great place to meet people – it’s amicable. There are always events, shows to see, and people to meet. Most likely, once you find one person who works in the field you are interested in, they will be able to introduce you to a handful of others willing to grab a coffee. Though the city has grown, it still carries that ‘small town’ feel if you look in the right places. I also co-founded The Other Nashville Society, which helps gather all those here who work outside of the country music genre. There is little infrastructure here for creators outside the country music genre, so we wanted to be a center point for those who need to find their people – managers, agents, publishers, label execs, photographers, writers, producers, artists, etc. We throw events every quarter, and even I always meet someone every time who I did not know lived here or moved here.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @rxsongs

Image Credits
Kevin Fagan