Young, talented, and focused—Atlanta native, Byron Wright is on a mission to create a new generation and wave of the Atlanta hip-hop and R&B community.
At only 30-years-old, Wright is in no way new to the industry. His experience within the industry has been growing since his high school career. “I’m from Atlanta, GA, so naturally, I was exposed to the Atlanta music community at a young age.” said Wright.
Wright is a graduate of North Atlanta High School, a school that is notably recognized for its strong performance arts and international business magnet programs. The school has birthed the talents of distinguished and notable alumni such as A Different World actress Jasmine Guy, R&B singer Bobby Valentino and choreographer Travis Payne.
Although Wright is in the music industry, he has worked hard to involve himself with many organizations and clubs that would expose him to learn about the music industry, marketing and business.
“I thought it would cool to be able to find a job where I could utilize my experiences in marketing and my newfound internship where I was learning about the music business,” said Wright. From this point on, he knew that he wanted to have a career in the music industry. “I was just always exposed to music, and I just grew to love it. I knew that I wanted to work in that business.”
During his senior year at North Atlanta High School, Wright received the opportunity that would further his passion for music and marketing—a marketing internship with Atlanta-bred recording label So So Def.
During his internship at So So Def, Wright worked as a member of the promotions team, where he learned to build relationships with other music industry executives. Wright worked to help promote the first Scream tour with Michael Mauldin and Jermaine Dupri, featuring a plethora of hip-hop and R&B teen artists such as Bow Wow, B2K and other rising artists in hip-hop and R&B.
After graduating from North Atlanta High School, Wright attended the University of West Georgia to study marketing. During his time at UWG, Wright was heavily involved with several organizations on campus. He even began a student organization for entertainment marketing.
In 2005, Wright graduated from UWG and now works as the Writer/Director of Publisher Relations at BMI. Wright has been with the company for seven years. “I didn’t actually really know that I would find a career in music publishing or working over here at BMI. But it’s been awesome, and I’ve been able to grow and use everything that I’ve learned at West Georgia, the marketing department and internships that I’ve had when I got started.”
Since beginning his career with BMI, Wright has worked with some of the music industry’s top writers, producers and executives. He has worked with producers such as Bangladesh and Kane Beatz. Wright has also worked with writers and producers such as Polow Da Don, Rick Ross and DJ Khaled.
Wright was recently named on the “30 Under 30” list by Billboard Magazine. “It was really one of my proudest moments. To be acknowledged by a publication like Billboard on such as huge scale was very special to me because of all of the hard work that I put in over the years,” said Wright.
During Wright’s tenure at BMI, he has played an integral part of the label’s involvement with BMI’s Urban Showcase, a project started Catherine Brewton, the label’s Vice President of Writer Relations at BMI, 15 years ago. “I guess you can say that she wanted to pass the mantel on to me with the showcase, so I gracefully accepted,” said Wright.
Wright credits networking and relationship building for his accomplishments for the success of putting his career on the map. “It really helps to get involved early on and build relationships, and that’s been a huge part of my success,” said Wright. “A lot of the important people that I work with now, I can say that I have had relationships with them since high school.”
Byron Wright Interview by Thewestgeorgian on Mixcloud
