Bill Mayne, veteran label and radio executive and former Executive Director of the Country Radio Broadcasters and Country Radio Seminar, has passed away after fighting against a long-term illness. He was 72 years of age.
Mayne’s career spanned more than five decades, starting as a country music performer before moving into radio. He launched Austin’s KASE and would also lead KZLA-FM and KLAC-AM in Los Angeles, former Country stations in the nation’s No. 1 revenue market. He would also lead WBAP and KSCS in Dallas.
Mayne eventually moved on to serve as Sr. VP/General Manager and VP of Promotion at Warner Bros. Nashville.
At the CRB, Mayne served as a board member and Vice President before his decade-long leadership as Executive Director, revitalizing the organization and contributing to its enduring success. His dedication to the industry was further honored with the President’s Award in 2019.
Outside of radio, Mayne ran Mayne Entertainment and Mayne Street Consulting. His philanthropic efforts were equally significant, including pivotal roles in the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music Board of Directors, and co-founding the St. Jude Country Cares for Kids Program, which has generated over $700 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
His charitable spirit extended to serving as National VP for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, as well as contributions to Leadership Music and the Mayor’s Nashville Music Council.
Mayne’s successor as CRB/CRS Executive Director, former KZLA figure R.J. Curtis, said, “The passing of Bill Mayne marks a profound loss for the entire country music community. Bill was a true giant in every sense of the word. His fifty years of passionate work positively impacted everyone he met, in nearly every segment of our business, through his time in radio, the music industry, artist management, entrepreneurialism, and, of course, his decade of leadership as Executive Director for CRB. Bill Mayne navigated the organization through a period of great adversity, ultimately reestablishing CRS as the premier industry event that it is today.”
CRB Board Member Mike McVay told Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink, “Bill Mayne took the helm at CRB at a time when the nation was enduring great economic stress. He was instrumental in turning around the finances of the group and in building the foundation for the Country Radio Seminar to become what it is today.”
Mayne is survived by his wife Sallie Mayne, sons Bryant and Christopher, grandchild Everleigh, and mother-in-law Helen Wood. Details on a public service to celebrate his life are pending.
— Reporting by Streamline Publishing’s Radio Ink
