Benom Plumb

Educator, author, songwriter, producer and music business professional, Benom Plumb has the music business in his genes. A music industry professional since 2006, Plumb is the great-nephew to the acclaimed record producer and A&R man, Neely Plumb (“The Purple People Eater,” “The Sound of Music,” “Jefferson Airplane,” Juan Esquivel, Neal Hefti’s “Batman Theme”). He recently authored a book based on Neely Plumb’s memoir titled “Georgia Rambler: The Life and Music of Neely Plumb,” and was a featured presenter at the Music and Entertainment Industry Educator’s Association conference for his research based on Chapter 12 of “Georgia Rambler” titled, “The Purple People Eater in U.S. Pop Culture.”

Plumb’s primary expertise is music publishing (creative and business). He was vice president of licensing at Bluewater Music in Nashville, Tennessee, from 2007 to 2012. During his time at Bluewater Music, he led all TV/film music licensing projects, signing new talent, pitching songs to artists, finding publishing royalties, negotiating various business deals and representing the company throughout the world at music industry events.

Before arriving at University of the Pacific in 2020, Plumb was assistant professor of music industry studies at the University of Colorado Denver. He also worked at Red Rocks Amphitheater for touring artist’s concert merchandise business such as Billie Eilish, 21 Pilots, Chance the Rapper, Nine Inch Nails, One Republic, Kacey Musgraves, Atmosphere, Tom Petty, Greta Van Fleet and others.

Plumb is a professional member of The Recording Academy (San Francisco Chapter) and Editorial Review Board Member of the MEIEA Journal. He has published various articles about music industry topics and has been cited in peer reviewed journals such as Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (Yeshiva University), Sports and Entertainment Law Journal (University of Virginia), and Media and Entertainment Law Journal (Fordham University). Plumb has also been quoted as a music publishing and music licensing expert by Marketplace (American Public Media), the National Music Publishers Association, The Takeaway (WNYC) and The Denver Post. At Pacific, Plumb was awarded the Thomas J. Long Faculty Fellowship in General Education in recognition of innovative and outstanding teaching in the general education course, MMGT 11: Introduction to Music Business.

Plumb’s creative music endeavors include a rock project under the fitting name “Professor Plumb,” and an electronic/beat-making music project called “The Jolly Backbeat.” His rock music has been featured in The CW network TV show “Legacies,” as well as in the PlayStation/Oculus virtual reality video game “Drums Rock.” He is SESAC songwriter and publisher member and has music representation through Bluewater Music, Gravelpit Music and Symphonic Distribution.

Featured Pacific Newsroom articles:

·  New Professor Q&A: Plumb talks music, Indiana Jones and Texas BBQ 

·  Music Industry majors land coveted positions

·  New professional practice primes students for music industry careers

·  Grammy-winning recording engineer wows conservatory students

·  New recording console creates unmatched opportunities for Pacific’s aspiring audio engineers

IG handle: @professorplumbmusic