Benson Prez Named

NASHVILLE‹John Mays, formerly senior VP of A&R at Star Song, has been named president of the Benson Music Group, home of the 97-year-old Benson label.
Mays takes the reins from Jeff Moseley, who announced he was resigning the post last November but has continued to work out his contract with Provident Music Group, which has owned the Benson Music Group since 1997.
"It's a new day for the Benson company because we're bringing a guy in who is perfectly suited for that job at this time," says Provident Music Group chairman/CEO Jim Van Hook. "If I were an artist, it would be a dream to work with a guy like John Mays."
Mays says he wants to build a comfortable home for artists. "There are a lot of people asking questions about new ways for artists and record companies to relate to each other," he says. "I want Benson to be on the leading edge of exploring those new ways where artists are more involved in their imaging, marketing, what's being said about them, and how they're positioned."
Mays' A&R expertise in the industry is well-documented. He is responsible for signing and developing the careers of Point Of Grace, Cindy Morgan, and Nichole Nordeman. He has also been instrumental in the careers of the Waiting, Wes King, Babbie Mason, Bruce Carroll, and many others. During his tenure at Star Song, he also spearheaded the "Experiencing God" project.
"One of the most important aspects of the business of any record company is A&R," says Van Hook. "We need to have a steady stream of creative and significant world-class records in the Christian music industry . . . Part of my responsibility is to find the best people I can to do this."
A native Texan, Mays began his career in Christian music as a 19-year-old bass player traveling with the Speer Family for four years. He then spent several years with Andrus Blackwood & Company before leaving the road to become a session musician, songwriter, and producer.
He was recruited into the record executive ranks when Neal Joseph hired him in 1987 as director of A&R for Word Records.
Mays became VP of A&R and spent eight years with the label, before exiting to become VP of A&R at Sparrow in 1995. In 1997, he was named senior VP of A&R at Sparrow's sister label Star Song. He resigned the post at the end of last year following EMI Christian Music Group's decision to turn Star Song into an imprint.
Mays admits that after leaving Star Song, he had considered opening his own label but was drawn to the chance to head Benson, in part because Bob Benson‹president of the label when Mays moved to Nashville in 1976‹had such an impact on him.
"It was an amazing place," Mays says of the company's glory days under Benson.
Mays also