CEO // Creative and Dreams Music Network, LLC
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.
Sir Fred Cannon received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Whittier College in California and his associate’s degree in political science and government from the University of Maryland – Munich, Germany. He attended Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Management.
He 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 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.
Sir Fred Cannon served as supervising producer of the World Music Awards in Monte Carlo from 1989 to 2001. He was a member of the British Institute of Marketing from 1977 to 1988, and was named a fellow of the British Institute of Directors in 1985.
He joined BMI as a consultant in 1994, serving as event coordinator of the CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) 39th World Congress in Washington, DC. Later that year, he was named legislative liaison. He was then promoted to vice president of government relations in 1996.
In 1997, he was appointed Honorary State Representative of the State of Louisiana. Under the Clinton administration, he served on the “America Goes Back to School” task force for the Department of Education.
He sat on the board of directors for the State Government Affairs Council from 1998 to 2002, where he also served as a member of the Council’s Public Relations/Communications Committee. He was also a member of the Public Affairs Council.
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.
Sir Fred Cannon led the company’s efforts in protecting the rights of BMI’s songwriters, composers and music publishers at all levels of government. Combining his experience and insight into the creative process with his knowledge of government relations, he was one of the industry’s most effective lobbyists on copyright, creative freedoms, censorship and the threat posed by unauthorized download of music over the Internet. He worked with key congressional staff as an experienced music industry advisor in drafting legislation on music on the Internet. He played a similar role as an advisor to state legislators dealing with local public policy issues including creative freedom for songwriters, intellectual property rights and public performance of music.
His wide scope of professional relationships among government relations professionals and fellow lobbyists afforded him the opportunity to spread awareness of the threat to American culture and the economy posed by the unrestricted misappropriation of copyrights in music and filmed entertainment by companies and individuals. His international experience helped him graphically illustrate the global impact of theft of intellectual property. His close working relationships with world-class artists made it possible to dramatize and humanize often hard to understand intellectual property issues by escorting stars on personal visits to legislators both in Washington, DC and in state governments.
From 2006 to 2008, Sir Fred Cannon served as president of the Recording Academy’s Washington, DC Chapter. He also served as a board member of the Copyright Alliance and the Songwriters Guild of America Foundation, co- vice president of the Songwriters Association of Washington, board member of the Smithsonian’s Jazz Appreciation Month, a member of the Country Music Association, a member of the Washington Area Music Association, and was a steering committee member for the Henley Business School MBA program in the UK. He also served on the advisory boards of Musicians On Call, the Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, the George Washington University Creative and Innovative Economy Center, and the Starshine Academy International Schools. He currently serves on the board of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience, together with the Amazon Aid Foundation, and is the Ambassador for ‘A Diverse World’ Foundation, Peru.
In 2009, he was knighted by Cardinal Foley, the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
Since 2012 Sir Fred Cannon has served as CEO of Creative and Dreams Music Network, LLC
In 2018, Freddy Cannon joined UnitedDJ’s Radio to launch The Freddy Cannon Nashville Show. His success grew weekly, as many folks through the world embrace his new show and discovered the wonderful country sounds from Nashville. From South Africa to Russia from Japan to Brazil. The bulk of the listeners were from the UK, US, Europe and Scandinavia.
Radio DJ’ing, one of his early love’s is moving forward on an exciting journey. Listen for his show on your internet station or local radio station. He now resides on the following broadcasting stations around the world – KMBY-AM Monterey California, 365radio.co in the UK, Epic Radio in Vancouver, Canada and KL1 in Great Britain