Ryan Cain, a senior mechanical licensing coordinator for Universal Music Publishing Group, died of complications from having an enlarged heart on April 30 in West Hollywood, Calif. He was 30.
Cain was born on August 25, 1978 in Ridgewood, N.J., and was raised in Charlotte, N.C. While studying pre-med at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Cain developed a passion for the music industry. After graduation, he moved to West Hollywood to pursue a career in music publishing. In 2003, he began his career at BMG Music Publishing and then moved to Universal Music Publishing Group in 2007 when the two companies merged.
Cain had landed sponsorship deals with brands like Hudson Jeans and worked with artists like Katy Perry, Trapt, and Switchfoot. His true passion was finding and promoting new talent. He was responsible for the career of Kim Kline and helped such acts as Cage9, Like a Storm, Rachelle, BC Jean (who co-wrote Beyonce’s “If I Were A Boy”).
“He found me through Myspace. Immediately the music brought us together, but he was my best friend. I was with him 24/7,” Kline tells Billboard.biz “His heart was 10 percent larger than it was supposed to be… the irony was that I always told him he had the biggest heart of anyone I ever knew.”
Cain is survived by his parents Dan and Darlene Cain, his brother Bradley, sister-in-law Abby, and nephew Addison.
