The younger of the three men died in 2018 at age 90.Īn obituary for John T. Benson Jr., who then was followed by his son, John T. Benson, who then passed leadership to his son, John T. The publishing company today known as Brentwood Benson dates back to 1902 and for many years The Benson Company was Nashville’s oldest permanent music business. “We want to honor the many arrangers, artists, songwriters, and partners who have given so much to breathe life into the musicals, collections, and anthems created over the years.”
“Brentwood Benson has experienced a long and storied history developing compelling resources that have empowered churches to impact their communities with the gospel,” the closure notice says. Its roots go back to one of the oldest music companies in Nashville, and its history parallels the rise of Southern Gospel and then Contemporary Christian Music. However, the only way to purchase any of our products will be directly from us as we liquidate inventory over the next two weeks.”Ĭurrently, all physical products offered on the website are being sold at 60% off normal prices and digital products are being sold at half price.Īs a publishing group, Brentwood Benson has produced and marketed consumer print and choral music as well as hymnals and songbooks for the church market. The abrupt announcement said officials are “cautiously hopeful that we will find a home for some of our best-selling products and resources in the future. “The challenges presented to those of us charged with developing resources for church choirs and orchestras resulted in market realities that have become unmanageable.” Unfortunately, these challenges have forced us to make the difficult decision to shut down all operations by the end of 2021.” The challenges presented to those of us charged with developing resources for church choirs and orchestras resulted in market realities that have become unmanageable.
The announcement states: “As we have all experienced over the past two years, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been extraordinary. The owner of the world’s largest Christian music publishing catalog is closing its business, citing the effects of COVID-19 as the reason.īrentwood Benson Music - which reportedly owns about 60,000 copyrights and is a storied Christian music business based in Nashville - announced on its website that it will cease operations by the end of this year.