Biography

John J. Thompson is a speaker, author, producer, artist, and music enthusiast who currently serves as the Director of Music Industry Studies and as a Professor of Music at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN, and has served as a Creative Consultant, Writer, Music Supervisor, and Producer for various publishing companies, independent artists, films, websites, festivals, and more. He earned both his undergraduate degree in Professional Studies (with an emphasis in Entertainment Management) and an MBA (with an emphasis in Entertainment Industry Leadership and Innovation) from Lipscomb. He currently hosts the True Tunes Podcast, consults for several independent artists, and speaks at colleges, theaters, churches, and other venues around the US and abroad.

“JJT” started his first band, The Wayside, when he was 16. He opened True Tunes (a record store, magazine, mail-order company, concert venue, and indie label) in 1989. He wrote Raised By Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock and Roll (ECW Press) in 2000 and founded Gyroscope Productions in 2004 as a marketing, consulting, and production company that worked with a diverse range of clients, including EMI Music, eOne Music, Gloria Gaynor, Community Music, Third Man Records, and more. He served as Director of Creative and Copyright Development for Capitol CMG Publishing from 2007 to 2016 and as the Associate Dean of Trevecca University’s School of Music after that. His book, Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate: Crafting a Hand-Made Faith in a Mass-Market World, was released by Zondervan/HarperCollins in 2015, and his musical novel, The Ballad of the Lost Dogs of East Nashville, was released in late 2024.