Brumley & Sons Music

What Brumley & Sons Music does

Brumley & Sons Music (legal entity: Albert E. Brumley & Sons, Inc.) is a privately held, family-owned music publishing and production company founded in 1944 by gospel songwriter Albert E. Brumley. The company operates from Powell, Missouri, in offices built by its founder in the 1940s, and is currently led by Bob Brumley (President & CEO), who became sole owner in 1986. The business owns one of the largest independent music catalogs in the world — over 800 published songs — anchored by "I'll Fly Away," recognized as the most recorded song in history with more than 10,000 recordings and 20,000 licenses issued worldwide as of October 2025.

The company operates four interlocking revenue streams. The core publishing/licensing business monetizes the catalog through sync, recording, and public performance licenses, administered via a third-party platform (Music Services). A direct-to-consumer Shopify storefront sells physical songbooks, CDs, and multipack bundles priced between $4 and $40, including titles such as "Great Inspirational Songs," "Radio Favorites," "The Best Of Albert E. Brumley," and the "Songs of the Pioneers" series. The annual Brumley Gospel Sing, a four-day festival running since 1969, draws over 20,000 attendees from 38+ states and generates approximately $7 million in regional economic impact (equivalent to roughly 40% of Lebanon, Missouri's annual city revenue). The affiliated I'll Fly Away Foundation, a 501(c)(3) established in 2011, runs the "You Can Fly" songwriting program in schools, where pilot data showed 18% gains in science, 8% in literary, and 4% in math scores.

Customer segments span recording artists and film/TV licensors (Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Kanye West, Reba McEntire, Tyler Perry Studios, HBO), gospel music enthusiasts, schools, and individual retail consumers. Distribution is entirely direct: Shopify e-commerce, phone-based ticket sales, and on-site festival transactions. The company carries no proprietary technology stack, no AI capabilities, and has taken no outside funding — capital allocation is purely internal and family-controlled. With 1–10 employees, the business functions as a lean, asset-light catalog operator whose principal asset is intellectual property rather than technology or scale.

Name

Brumley & Sons Music

Legal name

Albert E. Brumley & Sons, Inc.

Website

https://brumleymusic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1944

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Brumley & Sons Music is a family-owned music publishing company managing one of the world's largest independent catalogs (800+ songs), anchored by "I'll Fly Away." It generates revenue through licensing, songbook retail, an annual gospel festival, and a music-education foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Music Publishing

NAICS

Music Publishers (512230), Music Publishers (51223), Record Production and Distribution (51225), Record Production and Distribution (512250), Book Retailers and News Dealers (4592)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Retail-Record & Prerecorded Tape Stores (5735)

akta.pro primary industry

Music Rights Administration & Royalty Processing (Admin, Accounting, Statements) (MPAIAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Royalty Accounting & Payment Services (Statements, Audits, Payee Management) (MPAIABAL), Sheet Music & Music Books Retail (CRALAEAB), Recorded Music Retail & D2C Merch Bundles (MPAIAAAF), Global Rights Representation & Sub-Publishing/Reciprocal Collection Services (MPAIAKAI)

Keywords

• Gospel music publishing
• Music licensing services
• Songbook retail
• Live gospel festival
• Music education foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Powell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Music Publishing and Licensing: The company owns one of the largest independent music catalogs in the world, including Brumley's original music. Revenue comes from licensing fees for recordings, sync placements, and public performances of their catalog songs.
2. Songbooks and Music Products: Sale of physical songbooks, music compilations, and CDs through the online store. Products include themed songbooks, radio favorites, gospel collections, and Americana music compilations.
3. Annual Gospel Sing Festival: Ticket sales for the four-day annual Brumley Gospel Sing event. The festival accounts for approximately 40% of Lebanon, Missouri's annual city revenue.
4. Foundation Programs: The I'll Fly Away Foundation operates as a 501c(3) nonprofit that accepts donations and scholarships, supporting music education programs in schools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Brumley & Sons Music publishes, licenses, and sells traditional American gospel, country, and Americana music from a catalog of over 800 songs anchored by "I'll Fly Away." It generates revenue through music licensing (sync, recording, and public performance rights), direct retail of physical and digital songbooks via its Shopify e-commerce store, and ticket sales to the annual four-day Brumley Gospel Sing festival in Lebanon, Missouri.

Product overview

Brumley & Sons Music (also known as Brumley Music Group or Albert E. Brumley & Sons, Inc.) is a music publishing and production company founded in 1944 by gospel songwriter Albert E. Brumley. The company's product portfolio centers on two core offerings: music publishing/licensing and physical/digital songbook retail. The publishing arm manages one of the world's largest independent music catalogs (800+ songs), with "I'll Fly Away" as its flagship catalog song, handling licensing for film, TV, and media use through Music Services. The retail operation sells physical songbooks and music products through a Shopify-hosted e-commerce store, including themed compilations (Great Inspirational Songs, Radio Favorites, The Best Of Albert E. Brumley, Songs of the Pioneers series) and bundled multipacks. Related offerings include the annual Brumley Gospel Sing festival (since 1969), the I'll Fly Away Foundation (youth songwriting education, founded 2011), and the For You Alone Christian novel by Tudy Brumley.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• I'll Fly Away Foundation: Non-profit charitable foundation focused on improving children's lives through music education and songwriting programs

Products and services

• Brumley Music Store (Songbooks & Music Products) Online retail store selling physical and digital songbooks, music collections, and related products, including compilations of Brumley songs and traditional American folk, gospel, and country music, via the company's Shopify-hosted e-commerce platform.
• Music Licensing Services Music publishing and licensing services managing one of the largest independent music catalogs in the world. Handles licensing requests for songs from the Brumley catalog (including "I'll Fly Away") for use in film, television, advertising, and other media, processed through Music Services.
• Brumley Gospel Sing (Annual Festival) Annual four-day gospel music festival hosted by Brumley Music Group, drawing over 20,000 fans from across the U.S. and internationally and featuring dozens of Southern Gospel performers at Cowan Civic Center in Lebanon, Missouri.
• I'll Fly Away Foundation A 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation that improves children's lives through music education. Programs include the "You Can Fly" songwriting program partnering classrooms with professional songwriters to help children write songs about their curriculum. Founded in honor of Albert E. Brumley's legacy.
• Great Inspirational Songs Songbook A comprehensive collection of 325 gospel songs in shaped notes, including Albert E. Brumley hits such as "I'll Fly Away," "The Great Speckled Bird," and "I Want To Walk Just As Close As I Can." Available in softbound or spiral bound formats at $10.95–$13.95.
• The Best Of Albert E. Brumley A 160-page souvenir song book and picture album containing a curated selection of Albert E. Brumley songs representing the best of his more than 800 published compositions, along with biography, newspaper articles, illustrations, and photographs. Available in softbound or spiral bound formats at $10.00–$11.50.
• Radio Favorites Songbook A collection of 124 sacred and sentimental songs arranged in four-part harmony, featuring songs previously broadcast on radio, including Brumley favorites like "He Set Me Free," "Victory In Jesus," and "Turn Your Radio On." Priced at $9.00.
• Songs of the Pioneers Series Three-volume series of folk songs and ballads with words, music, and guitar chord symbols. Songs of the Pioneers #1 contains 60 classic folk songs; the series collectively covers songs depicting romance, tragedy, plantation songs, and American history.
• Special Buy Multipacks Bundled songbook packages offering discounted pricing. The Special Buy 8 Book Multipack includes Songs of the Pioneers 1, 2 & 3, Lamplitin Songs & Ballads, All Day Singin' & Dinner on the Grounds, Olde Time Camp Meetin' Songs, America's Memory Valley, and Golden Years of Gospel Singing at $40. The Mix & Match Special offers 5 books for $25.
• For You Alone (Christian Fiction Novel) A Christian romance novel written by Tudy Brumley (wife of Bob Brumley, son of Albert E. Brumley). The story follows Allie Crandon who flees to the mountains after being betrayed on her wedding day. Priced at $11.00.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000 licenses for 'I'll Fly Away' song worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Blue Bell CreameryminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 July 2017Blue Bell Creamery partnered with Brumley Music for an ice cream social event at the 49th Annual Brumley Gospel Sing. 25 winners were chosen from Saturday Night Brumley Gospel Sing Ticket holders to attend the exclusive ice cream social with the Oak Ridge Boys. Blue Bell also had a booth at the festival handing out free ice cream samples.
• Wildfire Music FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 June 2014The Wildfire Music Festival, created to honor the life and legacy of Brenna Marie Currie, partnered with the I'll Fly Away Foundation. Proceeds fund music scholarships and bring the foundation's music programs to Greensboro area schools.
• Music ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationMusic Services manages Brumley Music's licensing operations, providing a platform for licensing requests for songs from the Brumley catalog.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Primary Wave Music Publishing: Independent music publisher that acquires and administers legendary song catalogs, with a portfolio spanning classic rock, gospel-adjacent, and Americana. Brumley & Sons is a peer in the independent legacy-catalog publishing space, both monetizing historic compositions through sync and licensing.
• Hal Leonard Corporation: World's largest sheet music publisher and retailer, selling print music, songbooks, and related products to consumers and educational institutions. Brumley's songbook retail operation (Great Inspirational Songs, Radio Favorites, Songs of the Pioneers) is directly comparable.
• Peermusic: One of the largest independent music publishers globally, administering large legacy catalogs and active in sync licensing. Closely comparable to Brumley's independent publishing and licensing business model.
• Alfred Music: Major music publisher specializing in print music, educational music, and instructional songbooks. Overlaps with Brumley's songbook retail and I'll Fly Away Foundation educational programs in serving music learners and churches.
• Spirit Music Group: Independent music publisher administering catalogs of iconic songwriters across gospel, country, and pop. Direct competitor in the legacy catalog publishing space, with similar focus on Americana and traditional musical genres.
• Reservoir Media: Independent music publisher and rights company with a focus on catalog acquisitions and royalty-based revenue, publicly traded. Brumley is a smaller-scale analogue in the same independent publishing model.

Others

• SESAC: Performing rights organization (PRO) representing songwriters and publishers, including its Hall of Fame citations specifically recognized Brumley. An ecosystem peer that monetizes public performance rights adjacent to Brumley's sync licensing.

Broad incumbents

• BMG Rights Management: One of the world's largest music rights companies, offering recording, publishing, and sync licensing for legacy and contemporary catalogs. Brumley competes for the same sync licensing dollars and shares the focus on catalog administration.
• Concord Music Publishing: Major independent music publisher owning historic song catalogs (including Bee Gees, Randy Newman) and operating across sync, licensing, and physical/digital music retail. Directly comparable to Brumley's combined publishing + songbook retail model, though at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• CCLI (Christian Copyright Licensing International): Licensing organization focused on facilitating Christian and gospel music usage in churches and worship settings. Highly relevant to Brumley's gospel catalog distribution into the same primary customer segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brumleymusic
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHhCr5XFlpLVRrV_VrmbQMQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/thebrumleysing
• Instagraminstagram.com/brumleymusic
• Pinterestpinterest.com/BrumleyMusic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/albert-e-brumley-and-sons-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brumley & Sons Music