I · About
From banned records to copyright warrior
One of Jennifer Jones’ favorite early memories is of her mother secretly buying 45 records and playing them on Sundays while Jennifer’s Missionary Baptist minister father was away making hospital visits.
Those “banned” records sparked a lifelong love of every genre of music and set her on a path she now believes was not self-created but divinely guided. That path led her to work with groundbreaking legends across the music industry and, in June 2026, to launch CYA, LLC — Cover Your Assets: a copyright management and music publishing company dedicated to generating songwriter revenue and protecting creators’ rights.
II · Work & ledger
Money that was owed, and is now paid
- Recovered & secured, combined
- $4.5M+
- Unpaid concert royalties recovered
- $3M+
- From unlicensed international stations
- $1.5M+
- BMI · Live
Specialized in live musical attractions and recovered more than $3 million in unpaid concert royalties.
- BMI · Radio & TV
Earned the nickname “Pitbull” for doggedly pursuing stations that refused to license. Created the process that brought ethnic-format stations to sign agreements, and built broadcast-monitoring evidence so BMI could prepare copyright infringement claims. For the first time in BMI history, legal began reviewing ethnic stations for infringement action.
- BMI · Abroad
Secured more than $1.5 million from unlicensed international stations.
- Capricorn
Drafted and negotiated contracts and television and ancillary licenses, beginning with the sale of Kenny Chesney’s contract to BNA, and rose to Director of Legal and Business Affairs.
III · Lineage
Music, rights & rock ’n’ roll
- Beginnings
Screen Gems EMI
A Belmont University intern working with Charlie Feldman and John Briggs.
- MCA Records
Pop radio promotion
Interned in MCA’s pop radio promotion department, then was hired as pop promotion coordinator under Irving Azoff’s leadership.
- Gold Dust Records
Azoff & Joel Katz
Day-to-day liaison between the label and MCA Records, administering funding. Working from Katz’s Atlanta law offices exposed her to publisher agreements, record deals, and contract negotiations.
- Liberty · BNA/Sony
A&R and packaging
A&R assistant for Liberty’s newly formed alternative music department with Jimmy Bowen and Kim Buie, then artwork, video, and packaging coordinator at BNA/Sony.
- 1994 · Capricorn Records
Phil Walden & Philip Walden Jr.
Joined as legal coordinator in the Nashville office to pursue her passion for rock music, and rose to Director of Legal and Business Affairs in Atlanta.
- 2005 · BMI
Del Bryant & Mike O’Neill
Returned to Nashville to be closer to her mother and joined BMI as a licensing executive, moving from live musical attractions to radio and TV.
- June 2026 · Now
CYA, LLC — Cover Your Assets
A copyright management and music publishing company dedicated to generating songwriter revenue and protecting creators’ rights.
IV · The code
Never hesitate to demand the fulfillment of an agreement
That was the most important lesson of Jennifer’s career, and it was exemplified by Capricorn’s Phil Walden. Whether the matter involved $1,000 or $6,000,000, he showed that no one could intimidate or overwhelm her.
A major-label artist once called her “Shovel Buddy.” Asked why, the artist explained that if they phoned at 3 a.m. and asked her to bring a shovel and meet them in a desolate field, she would show up without question.
Show up. Hold the line. Be impossible to intimidate.
V · Counsel
CYA, LLC — Cover Your Assets
Copyright management and music publishing, dedicated to generating songwriter revenue and protecting creators’ rights.
