Barbara Cane will retire as vice president of worldwide creative at Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) at the end of the year after five decades with the company.
She will continue in an advisory role, working directly with chief executive officer Mike O’Neill.
A career that began in 1970
Cane joined BMI part-time in 1970 while attending high school and spent her entire professional career at the company. Her first position was in its Song Research department.
She later became general manager of BMI’s Los Angeles office and held vice president of creative roles in New York, Los Angeles and London, overseeing creative activities for its pop, rock and indie teams.
Her work included developing relationships with songwriters and other music creators, managers, attorneys, business managers, agents and record label executives.
O’Neill said he met Cane when he joined BMI almost 32 years ago. Her advisory role will allow her to continue providing counsel to him, the company and its writers.
Songwriter relationships
Cane worked with BMI President’s Award recipients Adam Levine, P!nk, and Dan Reynolds and Imagine Dragons.
Her relationships also included the following BMI Icons:
- Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
- Holland-Dozier-Holland
- Carole King
- David Foster
- Crosby, Stills & Nash
- Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds
- Barry Manilow
Awards, education and charitable work
Cane received the National Music Publishers’ Association’s Lifetime Service Award in 2019.
Her board service has included the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, The Michael Bolton Charities, T. J. Martell Foundation, Neil Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research and City of Hope.
She belongs to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In 2013, she helped establish the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s continuing “Master Speaker” series with the Thornton School of Music’s undergraduate Popular Music Degree Program.
Cane was the first recipient of the Children’s Hospital (LA) Teen Impact Award in 2006. Adam Levine and Maroon 5 presented the award to her.
She continues to support pediatric cancer research at Children’s Hospital, St. Jude Medical Center and Shriners Hospital for Children.
