SANTA MONICA, CA - Sixteen-year-old singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes, who is the youngest artist to lead the Billboard 200 in nearly five years, has signed an exclusive global publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG), it was announced today by Jody Gerson, Chairman and CEO, UMPG. Through the deal, UMPG will represent Mendes’ entire songwriting catalog, including all songs on his new No.1 album Handwritten (Island Records), which was released on April 14. Mendes wrote or co-wrote the majority of the songs on the album.

In making the announcement, Gerson said, “I am so impressed with Shawn’s talent as a songwriter, musician and performer and we are all thrilled to welcome him to the Universal Music Publishing family. His number #1 debut album Handwritten is only just the beginning. We look forward to working closely with Shawn and his management team lead by Andrew Gertler in helping to build a long and lasting career.”

“So excited to be a part of the Universal Music Publishing family! It means so much to have such an amazing and supportive team there who can help me fulfill my vision and who are so enthusiastic about what I do," said Mendes.

"We're thrilled to announce this deal with UMPG. We couldn't have asked for a better partner for Shawn as a songwriter and musician, and can't wait to get to work with Jody, Evan, David Gray & the entire team there," added Andrew Gertler, manager of Mendes.

Mendes rose to fame sharing six second videos on Vine of himself performing covers of hit songs, quickly earning him a massive and dedicated fan base. Mendes has firmly launched his career and uniquely established himself as one of his generation’s groundbreaking artists. The unconventional path he took to releasing Handwritten has already produced big results – the album sold 119,000 units in the U.S. in its first week in addition to garnering 4.8 million streams (Nielsen). Beginning next month, Mendes will support Taylor Swift on a U.S. tour throughout the summer and into October.