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Sire Records
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sire Records | |
|---|---|
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| Parent company | Warner Music Group |
| Founded | 1966 |
| Founder(s) | Seymour Stein Richard Gottehrer |
| Distributing label | Warner Bros. Records (US) WEA International (Non-US) |
| Genre(s) | Various |
| Country of origin | US |
| Official Website | http://sirerecords.com/ |
Sire Records Company is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records
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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."
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 Alanis Morissette.
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.