Del R. Bryant

Del R. Bryant is President & Chief Executive Officer of BMI, the performing rights organization. He was named to that position in August 2004 after a 32-year career with the company.

Most recently, he served as the company’s Executive Vice President, responsible for directing BMI’s Writer/Publisher Relations, Performing Rights, Media Licensing and General Licensing departments.

Bryant, who grew up in the music business and was immersed in the creative process as the son of legendary songwriters and publishers Boudleaux and Felice Bryant, joined BMI in Nashville in 1972 and served there in both the Writer/Publisher and Performing Rights departments. He has seen the company from every perspective as he has risen through the ranks.

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 and Writer/Publisher Relations in 1991, directing staffs in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, Puerto Rico and London.

In more than three decades of service at BMI, Bryant has become well known as one of the company’s most talented team builders. He has developed close working collaborations across departmental lines within BMI, and between writers and publishers and leaders of the music business. Perhaps his most important and successful long-term collaboration is that with BMI’s former President and CEO, Frances W. Preston.

Bryant has played the leading role in re-engineering and modernizing BMI’s royalty distribution system. He directed the implementation of the structure introduced in 1987, as part of an aggressive writer acquisition campaign that included major components in marketing, advertising and industry media relations and events. It marked a sharp turn-around at BMI and attracted many of the best new writers across key genres of music, and resulted in substantial increases in market share. He has continued to oversee this critical area of the company’s operations since that time.

Bryant’s comprehensive approach to building the BMI repertoire included initiatives in every major genre of music. Under his direction, BMI’s Film and Television department in Los Angeles was revitalized, leading the company to a predominant position in the representation of Hollywood’s leading composers. He redefined, reorganized and expanded BMI’s London outpost to be a major office representing the company not only for the UK, but for all of Europe. This move positioned BMI to build the professional relationships that have led the company to represent the most successful and celebrated songwriters and composers from the UK and the continent. Joining the BMI roster during Bryant’s tenure are Sting, Enya, The Corrs, Seal, Samantha Mumba, Dave Stewart, and film composer David Arnold, among others.

He directed the establishment of a Latin music division, a first among American performing rights organizations, and the opening of a Latin music office in Miami. These initiatives created a leadership presence that has enabled BMI to effectively represent the surging Latin creative community that has enjoyed explosive success with both Hispanic and mainstream audiences. The Latin artists who joined under the BMI banner include Emilio and Gloria Estefan, Jon Secada, Luis Miguel, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Robbie Rosa, just to name a few.

He also led the company’s effort in establishing an urban music division, headquartered in Atlanta, paving the way for a genre that has now become a powerhouse category in the BMI repertoire. Some of today’s hottest BMI urban acts include R. Kelly, The Neptunes, Eminem, Lil’ Jon, Kanyé West, Lil’ Kim and Snoop Dogg.

Bryant’s rare combination of musical sensibility, business acumen and social agility have brought to BMI some of the industry’s most capable and sought-after executives to head these new divisions and offices in these important genres of music. His collaboration with these executives has in turn made possible BMI’s acquisition of many of the top songwriter/artists in each geographic region and style of music. Heading BMI’s creative team are Phil Graham, Senior Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations; Charlie Feldman, Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, New York; Paul Corbin, Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville; Barbara Cane, Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations and General Manager, Los Angeles; Doreen Ringer Ross, Vice President, Film/TV Relations; Diane Almodovar, Assistant Vice President, Latin Music, Miami; Catherine Brewton, Assistant Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Atlanta; and Alison Smith, Senior Vice President, Performing Rights. Among the current superstars signed to the BMI roster are Christina Aguilera, Michelle Branch, Norah Jones, Pink, Kid Rock, Shania Twain, Britney Spears, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Jennifer Lopez, Sheryl Crow, Evanescence and Toby Keith.

Bryant’s accomplishments and passion for the business are underpinned by an incredible song sense, an intuitive understanding for the creative process of the songwriter and composer, and a deep understanding of how the writer fits into the creative matrix of the music business. Bryant, himself the writer of a BMI Award-winning song in 1978, is the son of America’s legendary songwriters Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. His early music business experience was gained as co-director, along with his brother, of the music publishing company founded by his parents, House of Bryant Publications, which publishes Bryant classics “Bye, Bye Love,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “All I Have To Do Is Dream” and “Love Hurts,” among others. His early business experience in pop, rock, and country music was quickly expanded to cover R&B, gospel, blues, jazz and other genres while serving in BMI’s Nashville office. He is now one of the industry’s most recognized and well-liked executives in music capitals ranging from Los Angeles to New York to Miami and London.

He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame; has served as a member of the Board of the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International (NSAI); and is an active member of the Recording Academy, the Country Music Association, the Gospel Music Association, and the Television Academy, among others.