Benstar Background

Benstar was founded in October 2005 to serve increasing demand to add marketing impact to advertising campaigns, audio visual soundtracks and branded content through the use of music. Over the last few years, executives with the power to place music have come to fully realize how it can engage and captivate the desired target demographic, enhance campaigns and create an associative identity for products with no limit in range.

Benstar helps major brands, ad agencies, film and television production companies and video games developers to create compelling campaigns and exciting soundtracks that add real value by harnessing the communicative power of music.

Benstar is run by Creative Director Ben Cherrill, a music and media professional of over 20 years standing with specific backgrounds in A&R and artist development, music editing and production, music supervision, soundtracks, brand partnerships and strategic music-led campaigns, operating on a worldwide business level. Ben is extremely proud of numerous major successes to date, including signing and developing the UK No.1 hit single Make Luv by Room 5 featuring Oliver Cheatham whilst at EMI Records.

Ben was subsequently responsible for overseeing the strategic synchronization of Make Luv into the award-winning worldwide Lynx Pulse TV advertising campaign, working closely alongside creative agency BBH (London) and Unilever (UK) in order to maximize the music release and Pulse product launch. This music and brand partnership is still the most commercially successful campaign in the UK during the last 10 years.

Ben's considerable expertise in the field of A&R has seen him sign, develop and promote dozens of respected artists and producers, specializing in acts from the world of pop, club and mainstream electronic music. He is responsible for securing more than Fifteen Top 10 hit singles in the UK, including huge successes for Wildchild/Fatboy Slim, York, Yomanda, David Morales, Reflekt feat Delline Bass, Lovefreekz and Bhangra Knights vs Husan, to name just a few. The latter's tune Husan will be recognized from its placement in the Pan-European Peugeot 206 television advertising campaign.

Ben was also a co-compiler of the immensely successful Cafe Del Mar global album brand and an executive producer on Volumes 6, 7 and 8, all 3 of these albums are certified with BPI Silver Sales Awards. Ben also fulfilled the role of executive soundtrack album producer for the noted British independent film It's All Gone Pete Tong. To date the combined global sales of all single, album and compilation projects boasting Ben Cherrill's creative A&R involvement is in excess of 20 million units.

Ben is one of the leading A&R executives to have succeeded within the ‘dance/pop genre’ during the past 15 years, and his list of recognized achievements are well documented within the music industry. His global vision for developing new artists from the UK, US and Europe, is unprecedented. Ben has won five prestigious Music Week Awards including ‘Best Dance Label’ in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, whilst at Manifesto Records and Positiva Records and also the Best A&R Award 1997 as part of the prolific A&R team at Polydor Records UK led by Lucien Grainge.

Benstar brings you cutting edge music from a diverse and varied range of established and emerging international recording artists, producers and independent labels that span the musical spectrum and have particular relevance in the world advertising, film, television and computer gaming. We supply a bespoke music reel to creative personnel around the world of ready-to-license music covering all genres.

Benstar served as a creative music consultant to rapidly emerging Oscar winning film production company BreakThru Films in London. Our brief was to advise on all music-related issues for a yet to be released music and sound based feature film, this included sourcing all cue music and engaging composers plus the development and negotiation of licensing and sponsorship deals for a multi-platform release of all music content from the film, this would include mobile, digital and physical soundtrack.

We work directly with artists and copyright owners in order to provide a fast and efficient new 'personal service' to the creative music & media industries. The agency is currently showcasing an exciting range of digital music content that covers many different styles, genres and uses.

Please feel free to contact Ben Cherrill for further information about Benstar and the range of services we offer both clients and artists.