August 23, 2004
Press Release
NEW YORK, August 23, 2004 – Del R. Bryant has assumed the post of President & CEO of BMI, it was announced today by Kenneth J. Elkins, Chairman of the BMI Board of Directors. Bryant, a 32-year veteran of the performing rights organization, most recently held the position of Executive Vice President.
Bryant’s appointment was announced in April by Elkins and BMI’s longtime President & CEO, Frances W. Preston. Bryant was selected for the post following an extensive search that included many senior executives in the music and entertainment industries. Elkins said, “The Board is pleased that we found the best qualified leadership within BMI. Del brings unique skills and critical experience to the challenge of managing a 21st century music enterprise.”
Bryant is a seasoned music executive with a lifelong commitment to the creative process. He joined BMI in Nashville in 1972 and served there in both the Writer/Publisher and Performing Rights departments. He re-located to New York in 1988 when he was named Vice President, Performing Rights, overseeing and re-designing BMI’s royalty distribution system. He was named Senior Vice President, Performing Rights & Writer/Publisher Relations in 1991, directing staffs in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, Puerto Rico and London. He was named Executive Vice President of the company in 2002, adding the Media Licensing and General Licensing departments to his roster of responsibilities.
Prior to joining BMI, he served with his brother as co-director of House of Bryant Publications, the music publishing company founded by his parents, legendary songwriters Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, writers of such hits as “Bye Bye Love,” “Love Hurts,” “Wake Up Little Susie” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream,” among others. They are members of both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Preston, who served as President & CEO for the past 18 years, becomes President Emeritus until year-end. She will then take on a new role as consultant to BMI, focusing on BMI’s international relationships and the company’s public policy agenda.
Founded in 1939, BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. Through its music performance and reciprocal agreements with sister organizations around the world, it grants businesses and media access to its repertoire of approximately 4.5 million songs and compositions.
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Contact: Robbin Ahrold Pat Baird
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