Sire Records Company is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros.
Records
Label history
Beginnings
The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer. Its early releases as a
record label were issued in 1968, distributed by London
Records. The label was then distributed by Polydor Records from 1970 until 1971, during which the now-famous logo was first
introduced, and then by Famous Music from 1972 to
1974, during which the progressive rock band Focus
charted with their 1972 hit "Hocus Pocus." During the seventies, Sire released many
well received complilation LPs, including the 3 volume "History Of British Rock" series, and well received comprehensive
complilations by such diverse artists as The Turtles, Duane
Eddy, The Small Faces, and Del Shannon. The
label also scored another Top 40 hit in 1977 with The Climax Blues Band's "Couldn't Get It Right". Stein, who had worked with the
Shangri-Las in the 60s, convinced them to regroup in 1977 and return to the studio. But
the trio were unhappy with the quality of material they recorded, and they opted out of their contract. Those tracks have yet to
be released.
Acquisition by Warner
In the later 1970s, Sire transformed itself into a large independent record label and went on to sign artists from the burgeoning punk rock and New Wave scenes, including: The Ramones, The Dead Boys and Talking
Heads. After a brief period of distribution by ABC Records, Sire was acquired by
Warner Bros. Records in 1978. During the 1980s, Sire
achieved mainstream concentration after having launched the recording careers of Madonna and Ice T, who were signed to the label in 1982 and 1986 respectively—as well as with Depeche
Mode and The Cure. Into the 1990s, the label achieved
more commercial notoriety with acts, such as: Seal, k.d.
lang, Tommy Page and A House. Mandy Moore was signed to Sire, but after creative differences, soon parted ways, later resulting in her
signing with The Firm music.
In 1995, Sire left Warner Bros. to operate under its sister label Elektra Records, where Stein was appointed president. Sire later left the Elektra umbrella, but remained
at Warner Music Group. In 2000, Sire Records and the US
division of London Records were merged to become "London-Sire Records" (still part of Warner Music Group). This partnership dissolved April
2003, at which point the company went back to being called Sire Records. In the time since, it has
returned to the Warner Bros. Records fold.
See also
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