Honour Roll Award - RAY DANNIELS

As a teenager, Danniels began his career in the music industry booking bands as an agent in his hometown of Toronto. In 1971, he took his career to the next level, taking on Canadian rock band Rush as agent and manager. In response to them being turned down by every record company in Canada, Ray took initiative and started his own company, Moon Records (later renamed Anthem) releasing Rush’s self-titled debut album. A few years later, a Cleveland radio station added Rush to its play list generating substantial airplay which led to the band’s U.S. signing with Mercury Records.

Fast forward to 2007 and Rush releases their 18th studio album Snake & Arrows, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Chart. In the tour that followed in 2007 and 2008, Rush performed in over 100 cities around the world, grossing over $40 million. In the words of Rolling Stone Magazine “It’s true that Rush doesn’t mean today what it did in ’76 or even ’96. It may mean more.”

As the President and C.E.O. of S.R.O. Management Inc. and Anthem Entertainment Group, Ray has been instrumental in the careers of many artists including Van Halen, The Tea Party, Max Webster, Matthew Good and now Ian Thornley. Ray was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

“I appreciate being recognized by the MMF,” comments Ray Danniels. “It’s rewarding to join the ranks of Bruce Allen and Bernie Finkelstein in receiving this award. Although our styles are different, our devotion and long term commitment to our artists are the same. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the members of Rush – Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Neil Peart for over 35 years of loyalty and trust. They have been the source of my motivation for all of these years. ”