Diana Meltzer is an American music industry executive. She is the owner of Monster Hits Music and was the co-owner of the world largest independent label

Wind-up Records Wind-up Entertainment was an American independent record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling artists worldwide were Creed and Evanescence ...

with her ex-husband

Alan Meltzer Alan Meltzer (1944 – October 31, 2011) was an American businessman and poker player who founded Wind-up Records along with his ex-wife Diana Meltzer. Record company Meltzer owned Titus Oaks Records, four record stores in New York and C ...

. She is primarily known for discovering and signing Grammy award-winning band

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut s ...

, and other bands such as

Alter Bridge Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former band Cr ...

Seether Seether are a South African rock band founded in 1999 in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. The band originally performed under the name Saron Gas until 2002, when they moved to the United States and changed it to Seether to avoid confusion wit ...

Drowning Pool Drowning Pool is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, in 1996. The band was named after the 1975 film ''The Drowning Pool (film), The Drowning Pool''. Since its formation, the band has consisted of guitarist C.J. Pierce, ...

Finger Eleven Finger Eleven is a Canadian rock band from Burlington, Ontario, formed in 1990. They have released seven studio albums (six as Finger Eleven and one as Rainbow Butt Monkeys), with their album '' The Greyest of Blue Skies'' bringing them into th ...

, Beat The System, Company of Thieves,

12 Stones 12 Stones is an American hard rock band, formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana, and currently consisting of Paul McCoy, Eric Weaver and Sean Dunaway. History The band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small city north of New Orleans, ...

Thriving Ivory Thriving Ivory was an American rock band based in the San Francisco Bay area. They released their self-titled Wind-up Records debut album on June 24, 2008. The debut album reached number 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart on the strength of th ...

, Bright Eyes,

People in Planes People in Planes were a Welsh alternative rock band from Porthcawl, active from 1998 to 2013. They were signed to Wind-up Records. Prior to 2003, they were known as Tetra Splendour (during which time they moved to Cardiff), and before that, they ...

Stereo Fuse Stereo Fuse is a post-grunge band from Dallas, Texas. Stereo Fuse was formed in 2000 after guitarist Jeff Quay and drummer Chad Jenkins were forced to disband their previous group. The two left their former lead singer after a show in Atlanta in ...

She first began her career as a fashion model. Later Meltzer owned a record store in Connecticut in the late 1980s before she was asked to assume the role of an A&R. In 2004 Meltzer became the first woman to top HitQuarters' World Top 100 A&R Chart, a considerable achievement in what is traditionally a male-dominated field. Other #1s have included

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American music executive, producer and author. Mottola is currently the Chairman of Mottola Media Group and was previously the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columb ...

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

and Mark Williams. Meltzer is still known to be the 'Woman with the Golden Ears'.

History

Early years

Creed

Meltzer and her husband Alan Meltzer made their fortune through CD One Stop before Alan purchased Grass Records in 1997. It was during that time when Alan was looking for an artist Meltzer heard Creed's first album ''

My Own Prison ''My Own Prison'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Creed, released in 1997. The album was released independently by the band's record label Blue Collar Records on June 24, 1997, but then was released by Wind-up Records on August 2 ...

'' and decided almost immediately that she wanted to sign them to the label. She later said that she heard "an arena band". Within the same week, Meltzer, together with Wind-up president Steve Lerner, and CEO Alan Meltzer flew to Tallahassee to see Creed perform live and decide for certain whether to offer them a contract. "Seeing the energy in the room when

Scott Stapp Scott Stapp (born Anthony Scott Flippen, August 8, 1973) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Creed. He has also fronted the band Art of Anarchy and has released three solo albums: '' The Great Di ...

stepped up to the mic, and hearing his powerful voice fill the room, alongside Mark Tremonti’s now legendary guitar riffs and that big

anthemic rock sound, was all I needed," she told

HitQuarters HitQuarters was an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It was noted for its in-depth interviews with industry figures, as well as its A&R and manager contact directory, free artist promo pages and song ...

Evanescence

Meltzer first heard

when producer Pete Matthews played their demos. It was when she heard "My Immortal" that she became interested in signing the band, saying she "knew it was a hit". She told HitQuarters that, although they already exhibited huge talent, they were still young and needed to be developed, and "given the time and opportunity they could deliver a breakthrough sound.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meltzer, Diana American music industry executives Living people Year of birth missing (living people)