Sire Records is an
American record label, owned by
Warner Music Group and distributed through
Warner Bros. RecordsLabel 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. From the beginning, Sire introduced underground, progressive
British bands to the American market. Early releases included the
Climax Blues Band,
Barclay James Harvest and
proto-punks
The Deviants. The label was distributed by
Polydor Records from
1970 until
1971, during which time the now-famous logo was 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 seventies, Sire released a number of compilation LPs, including the 3 volume "History Of British Rock" series, and diverse artists such as
The Turtles,
Duane Eddy,
The Small Faces, and
Del Shannon.
ABC Records inherited Sire's distribution contract when it acquired Famous Music in 1974. The UK signing policy was vindicated when Climax Blues Band scored a Top 40 hit in 1977 with "
Couldn't Get It Right," Also in 1977 Stein, who had worked with the group in the 1960s, convinced the
Shangri-Las to reform and return to the studio. But the trio was unhappy with the quality of material it recorded, and the trio opted out of its contract. Those tracks have yet to be released.
Acquisition by Warner
In the later 1970s, Sire transformed itself into a successful
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. Sire switched distribution to Warner Bros. Records in 1977; in
1978, Warner would acquired Sire Records. During the 1980s, Sire achieved mainstream status after having launched the recording careers of
Madonna, its biggest act;
Ice-T;
Depeche Mode;
Echo & the Bunnymen; and
The Cure in
North America. Into the 1990s, the label had continued success with
Seal;
k.d. lang;
Tommy Page; and
Ministry.
In 1994, Sire switched distribution from Warner Bros. Records to sister label
Elektra Records (also part of the parent company
WMG). Stein had been appointed president of Elektra Records under Elektra's newly appointed CEO
Sylvia Rhone. Sire later left Elektra and in 2000, Sire and the US division of
London Records (
not London Classics USA) were merged to become
London-Sire Records. This partnership dissolved in April 2003, at which point the company went back to being called Sire Records, and it returned to distribution with Warner Bros. once again.
In 2009, official music videos displayed on the Sire Records website were taken down 'due to a copyright claim' by their parent Warner Music Group, after
royalty negotiations between WMG and YouTube (which Sire had been using to host the videos) broke down in December 2008.
Current artists
See also
