Music mogul Alan Meltzer passed away suddenly over the weekend, according to the Hollywood Reporter. He was 67 years old.

Meltzer was the founder and former chairman of Wind-Up Entertainment, record label which he helmed from its inception in 1997 to his departure in 2010. Meltzer formed the New York based company with his wife Diana after purchasing indie label Grass records. Under his stewardship, the company hitched multi-platinum acts Creed, Evanescence, and Seether, boosting the popularity of hard rock towards the end of the millennium.

Wind-Up Records CEO and president said of Meltzer, "Alan was a creative force in the entertainment industry and will be missed. His passion for music and long term artist development was the capstone of the label and continues to drive us today," in a comment to the Hollywood Reporter.

Before embarking on Wind-Up records, Meltzer ran CD One Stop, a successful chain of record stores in New York and Connecticut that eventually grew into one of the largest wholesale distributors of CDs in the eighties and nineties.

Meltzer's passing was unexpected and the cause of death has not yet been determined as the autopsy results are still pending.

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