AIRPLAY DIRECT APPOINTS TWO NEW APD AMBASSADORS SIR FRED CANNON & MRS. ROSE DRAKE

AirPlay Direct is pleased to announce the appointment of two new AirPlay Direct Artist Ambassadors; Sir Fred Cannon and Mrs. Rose Drake.

“I am excited and truly honored to welcome Sir Cannon and Miss Rose to the AirPlay Direct family. They are both amazing people and accomplished music industry professionals. Together they are the gifted executive team that owns and operates Creative & Dreams Music Network, and First Generation Records”, said Lynda Weingartz, CEO – AirPlay Direct. “AirPlay Direct’s Collective Evolution manages the ‘APD Artist Ambassador’ Program, and will work closely with Rose and Fred on AirPlay Direct initiatives to help educate, develop and mentor the global APD membership.”

Creative and Dreams calls Sir Fred Cannon their “music man”, and the name suits him well. For more than forty years, he has worked in various roles in the music industry as a musician, music producer, radio DJ, songwriter, lecturer, marketing and promotion consultant, A&R expert, music publisher, music lobbyist, music business historian, artist development mentor and government relations professional. www.creativeanddreams.com

Currently, Cannon serves as a consultant for BMI and as CEO of Creative and Dreams Music Network, LLC. He is also an Adjunct Faculty member at Middle Tennessee State University. From 2002 to 2012, he served as BMI’s senior vice president of government relations, where he was responsible for coordinating and overseeing BMI’s legislative efforts in conjunction with all departments, as well as with the company’s lobbying firms in Washington, DC and in states across the country. Until its closure in May 2010, he served as vice chair of BMI’s political action committee, the BMI Legislative Fund for Authors, Composers and Publishers.

Prior to joining BMI, Cannon held senior management positions with EMI Records in Italy and England, where he worked with such superstars as Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Elton John, Deep Purple, Suzi Quatro and Michael Jackson. He was managing director of The Voice of the Daily American in Rome, Italy, where he was also a popular radio personality. From 1979 to 1988, he worked as managing director and CEO of Carrere Records in the UK, signing such international acts as Saxon, Phyllis Nelson, The Buggles, Dokken, The Church and Rose Tattoo, and assisting with the production of many hit records. From 1988 to 1992, he was international director of British record and music publishing company, PWL, which charted more than 100 top 40 hits and 16 number ones. During this period, he worked closely with artists such as Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and Donna Summer.

“Thank you for this wonderful honor you have bestowed on myself and the legendary Rose Drake. This is an awesome tribute to my lengthy and dedicated life creating and protecting music, artists and songwriters throughout the world over five decades,” stated Sir Fred Cannon. “I have seen many significant changes thrstated Sir Fred Cannon.oughout the years that have made me want to fight harder for the individual independent professional creator.”

“Once again, it is my distinct pleasure to work with two of the most solid pillars of the independent radio community, Robert and Lynda Weingartz. Both, are true pioneers of the independent global radio scene. I am thrilled to be able work alongside of these radio icons to bring more great independent music to the world. This is a special honor and my privilege for me to represent the brand and world of AirPlay Direct.” –Sir Fred Cannon, CEO – Creative and Dreams Music Network

Rose Drake is a pioneer of the Nashville music scene. She has never played an instrument, made a musical recording or penned the words of a hit song, but without Rose Drake, much of the national and international acclaim Nashville’s Pete Drake enjoyed as a music legend might not have happened.

Rose is a truly a unique female music executive that successfully managed record labels, and various publishing companies at the ripe age of 25 on Music Row. She drove the growth of the business and saw the opportunity in the 70’s and 80’s to make the Drake companies a international name and a place for musicians, songwriters and music lovers as well.

The Drakes’ studio and home were known as “The Drakes’ School of Music,” where musicians could hang out, record and listen to music any hour of the day. “Pete’s Place” Recording Studio was actually open twenty-hours a day, giving an all-night studio home to new songwriters as they arrived in Nashville. It wasn’t unusual to run into Willie Nelson, Leon Russell, Billy Joel, BJ Thomas, Tommy James, George Jones, David Allan Coe, Waylon Jennings or a group of Grand Ole Opry artists just hanging out and laying down tracks at Pete’s Place Studio.

“I am truly thrilled by this prestigious appointment. I feel that this Is a very special moment not just for me, but for the thousands of great and talented songwriters who came to Nashville with hopes and dreams.” says Rose Drake. “I just wish Robert and Lynda Weingartz had created AirPlay Direct many decades earlier to help promote many more talented songwriters.”

“I have been fortunate to have worked with Lynda throughout the years, and I am honored to work alongside of her. I totally support the wonderful professional efforts and the work by the AirPlay Direct team to give ‘us all’ the opportunity to discover and promote great artists and songwriters globally.”   –Rose Drake, President – Creative & Dreams Music Network

AirPlay Direct is an e-based artist marketing, promotion and education platform that allows artists, record labels and music publishers to securely deliver broadcast-quality music and Digital Press Kits / DPKs to music industry professionals worldwide. Our system allows, radio programmers and film / TV music supervisors globally to connect to new music, create music calls, browse top downloaded artists and immediately download music and related artist information.

AirPlay Direct also provides our artist / label members our genre-based APD Global Radio Indicator Charts which track the download activity that our members’ music receives from our worldwide radio panel. We have a national and international reach of 10,000+ radio stations and programmers in 90+ countries. www.AirPlayDirect.com

Collective Evolution is a boutique, high-end entertainment and media consulting firm. Our clients include recording artists, record labels, record producers, management companies and radio promotion / PR firms. We offer creative consultative services and customized business solutions to our clients based upon their specific needs and goals.