BMI president and CEO Frances W. Preston is being inducted in the non-performer category of the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame. She has been called “one of the true powerhouses in the pop music business” by Fortune magazine. Preston joined the performing rights organization in 1958 after working in the music and broadcasting industries in Nashville. She opened BMI’s southern regional office there, and was named Vice President in 1964. Under her leadership, the southern operation grew to more than 400 employees housed in a building on Music Row that was opened in 1995. Preston brought the same drive and business acumen to New York, becoming Senior Vice President of Performing Rights in 1985, and was appointed President and CEO in 1986. At BMI, Preston’s most prominent contributions have come through her political vigilance when it comes to the rights and incomes of songwriters, composers and publishers. She is a permanent board member of the Gospel Music Association, where she served as Chairperson and President, as well as a lifetime member of the Country Music Association and the Nashville Songwriters Association International. On a charitable level, she is President of the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research and her involvement has led to the creation of the Frances Williams Preston Research Laboratories at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the dedication of a major medical research building in her name.
