Widely Respected Exec Celebrates 25 Years on Music Row
Warner/Chappell Music (WCM) today announced the promotion of Ben Vaughn to President & CEO of Warner/Chappell Nashville. Vaughn will continue to lead the division’s creative and commercial activities as the Nashville music community steadily rises in global prominence. Having joined the company in 2012, Vaughn has been President of Warner/Chappell Nashville since 2017. He will report to Warner/Chappell Music’s incoming Co-Chair & CEO and the company’s Co-Chair & COO, Carianne Marshall.
Last month, Warner/Chappell was named Billboard’s No. 1 Nashville Publisher in 2018, for the second year in a row. Warner/Chappell Nashville also recently enjoyed a record-breaking Country Music Week, having been named ASCAP Country Publisher of the Year for the sixth year in a row and BMI’s Publisher of the Year for the first time in more than two decades. The company was also named NMPA’s Top Publisher in 2018. Throughout Vaughn’s career, he has worked with songwriters who have collectively won ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and ACM Songwriter of the Year awards 16 times and Song of the Year (across the CMAs, ACMs, NSAI, and the Grammys) 24 times. Among Grammy nominations this year are Warner/Chappell Nashville songwriters Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip for “I Lived It” (Blake Shelton); and Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds and Dan Smyers for “Tequila” (Dan + Shay). Notably, WCM’s Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, Brothers Osborne, and Kacey Musgraves are up for multiple awards.
“Ben has been an exceptional leader for our Warner/Chappell Nashville operation since coming on board seven years ago,” said Steve Cooper, CEO of Warner Music Group. “In addition to being an A&R force who’s deeply invested in the success of each and every songwriter, he’s an innovative, perceptive dealmaker and a staunch advocate for creative rights. Nashville is home to an extraordinary creative community that occupies a central place in the Warner/Chappell culture, and Ben’s richly deserved promotion recognizes both his outstanding accomplishments and his vision for the future.”
“The Nashville songwriting community is like none other in the world, and over the course of his 25 year career, Ben has played a pivotal role in making it the amazing place that it is today,” said Carianne Marshall, Co-Chair and COO of Warner/Chappell Music. “From young, next generation songwriters to award-winning superstars, Ben’s instincts and expertise have made Warner/Chappell Nashville the definitive destination for incredible game-changing talent. I’m excited to work with him as our Nashville business continues to grow and flourish.”
“When I think about how I got here, it’s surreal how many brilliant people have invited me to be part of their story,” said Vaughn. “As Nashville continues to evolve, I’m excited to keep pushing forward and to support the phenomenal talent coming out of this city. Music publishing is team ball and we have the best team in the business—with the passion, drive and ambition to help our songwriters create hits on the world’s stage.”
Under Vaughn’s leadership, Nashville writers have experienced unprecedented genre-crossing success on the Billboard Hot 100 and Top 40 charts – among them Nicolle Galyon, Emily Weisband, and Amy Wadge on Camila Cabello’s “Consequences”; Josh Miller on Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha’s “Meant to Be”; and songwriters on Dan + Shay’s “Tequila” (Galyon, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers) and For King & Country’s “Joy” (Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone, Tedd Tjornhom).
Having championed artist development throughout his career in publishing, Vaughn counts recognizing and cultivating major label deals for such talents as Thomas Rhett, Devin Dawson, Dan + Shay, Midland, Cale Dodds, LANco, Brandon Lay, Josh Phillips, Riley Green, Michael Ray, Gone West, Seth Ennis, A Thousand Horses, Morgan Evans, and Carlton Anderson, among his many achievements.
Vaughn’s roster includes 2018 ACM Songwriter of the Year Rhett Akins, 2018 CMA Song of the Year winner Chris Stapleton, 2018 CMA Album of the Year winner Kacey Musgraves, and 2018 BMI Songwriter of the Year Jesse Frasure, as well as Lauren Alaina, Lee Brice, Brothers Osborne, busbee, Nathan Chapman, Dave Cobb, For King & Country, Jesse Frasure, Nicolle Galyon, Brantley Gilbert, Ben Hayslip, Brett James, Jay Joyce, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Dustin Lynch, Lee Miller, Randy Montana, Matthew Ramsey, Jordan Reynolds, and Liz Rose, among others. He has also worked with noted songwriters such as Guy Clark, Ross Copperman, Dallas Davidson, Alan Jackson, The Warren Brothers, Chris Young, and many more.
In addition to being named to Billboard’s Nashville Power Players and 40 Under 40 lists multiple times, Vaughn serves on the board of CMA and Belmont University’s Music Industry Advisory Board, and is a member of NMPA and a former Chairman of the ACM board. A Kentucky native, he was recently inducted into the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonel, and he received the Belmont University/ASCAP Music Milestone Award.
Before joining Warner/Chappell, Vaughn had become the youngest executive to head a major publisher in Nashville, as EVP & GM at EMI. Prior to his work at the majors, Vaughn ran an independent music publishing company starting at the age of 20.
