Broken Bow Founder Benny Brown Acquires Wide Open Music Publishing, Launches North Chapel Music

Broken Bow founder Benny Brown has acquired Wide Open Music Publishing and rolled the company into a new publishing venture called North Chapel Music.

Brown disclosed the Wide Open buyout – and the adjacent launch of North Chapel – in a formal release that was emailed to DMN. Now, the debuting publisher is home to Wide Open’s “entire song catalog,” including commercially prominent works recorded by Brett Young, Matt Stell, and George Birge, to name a few.

Also shifting to North Chapel is Wide Open’s existing songwriter roster: Jaron Boyer, Neal Coty, Matt Gorman, 2 Lane Summer members Chris Ray and Joe Hanson, Joe Haydel, Lakelin Lemmings, Tim Owens, Aaron Scherz, John Stephens, and Nathan Woodard.

Joining these professionals at the newly minted publisher are five fresh signings: Matt Cooper, brothers Spencer and Connor Hatcher, Jason Sellers, and Runaway June founding member Jennifer Wayne.

“I’m excited to launch North Chapel Music, where great songs and great songwriters will always be our greatest assets,” added Brown. “There’s so much value in our catalog, and especially in our people, so I jumped at the chance to get back into the publishing business.”

Shifting to the organizational and personnel sides, North Chapel is technically distinct from Brown’s Quartz Hill Music Group (QHMG), which houses a namesake label, Stone Country Records, and BSB Management, the debuting company emphasized.

“North Chapel Music is not part of QHMG but rather a sister company,” the entity spelled out. Furthermore, notwithstanding the sale and the publisher’s launch, Wide Open co-founder Ash Bowers will remain in place as EVP at QHMG.

(October 2024 saw Bowers rejoin Wide Open as president; Wide Open’s website already looks to have been decommissioned.)

Next, Brown has named as North Chapel’s EVP former Wide Open exec Paul Compton. In that role, the Songwriter Agency founder Compton will, among other things, “be responsible for all day-to-day creative and administrative management duties.”

“I’m grateful to Benny for entrusting me to lead his vision of the newly formed North Chapel Music,” Compton communicated. “With our growing roster of established writers and developing artist writers, North Chapel will serve as a direct source of music and artistry for Benny’s QHMG record labels, as well as servicing career-elevating music and talent for the global music market.”

Finally, the aforementioned Sellers, besides joining as a songwriter, has signed on as North Chapel’s senior creative director; he will continue as a QHMG partner as well. Meanwhile, BSB manager Wendy Buckner is aboard as North Chapel’s creative director, reporting to Compton.