Mitch Ballard, Austin :: has been named senior creative director for the newly created Austin office of BMI, the songwriting performing rights organization. His duties will includes providing service to other Texas BMI affiliates, signing new talent and enhancing the songwriting community in Austin. Mitch, a journalism/broadcast news major, began his career as on-air talent in radio and television and served as a tour manager for major national acts. He also created web-based applications for music booking agencies as well as a system to manage concert tours for major artists. He also owned DevDigital, a software development company.