catherine brewton – music maverick
photo by steed media service |
Vice President of Urban Music, BMI
Catherine Brewton, vice president of urban music for BMI had just returned from the Country Music Awards where she watched one of her early signees, Lil Wayne, rock the stage with megastar Kid Rock. It was a big feat for hip-hop, but it may have meant even more for her.
“I met Wayne when he was 14 or 15,” she remembers. “[Producer] Rodney Jerkins was 18, 19 when I met him. Dallas was one of my first big signings, I met Pharrell [Williams] early on [in] his career so … it’s been really rewarding to see people early on and then see their careers plateau.”
To describe Brewton as busy would be an understatement. She is responsible for managing a staff of executives; making sure that if one of her artists has a record on the charts, it’s registered; creating events and symposiums to educate the public on the music business and programming; and putting on the urban BMI Awards and BMI’s upcoming gospel awards. Whew. But since she helped start BMI’s urban office in Atlanta nearly 10 years ago, she’s cultivated a great balancing act that aids her in carrying out her day-to-day responsibilities. Brewton says that her former gig as a financial analyst for GE helps her tremendously now.
“I have budget responsibilities,” she explains. “I have salaries and projections and had I not had that financial background, would I have been in a position to do what I’ve done? Absolutely not. So many people see the music business as just music, but it takes lots of preparation and really being strategic.” –j.h.
