Creator / Sire Records

Sire Records, a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, is one of the music industry's leading Alternative Rock labels.

Founded in 1966 by Seymour Stein (who ran the company until 2018; he died in 2023) and Record Producer Richard Gottehrer, Sire's specialty during its first decade was signing British and European Psychedelic Rock and Progressive Rock bands who'd been passed over by other American record companies. The most prominent groups from this era include Renaissance, Focus (who gave the label its first Top 10 hit with "Hocus Pocus") and Climax Blues Band. The company also became noted for its reissue series, "The Vintage Years" and "The Immediate Story".

However, Sire's focus started to change when they signed the Ramones in 1976. By 1977, when Sire got a distribution deal with Warner (Bros.) Records (Warner would purchase the label outright a year later), they'd switched their emphasis to Punk Rock, New Wave Music and later Alternative Rock. Their roster came to include Talking Heads, Pretenders, The Smiths, The Replacements and Ministry; also, a licensing deal with Mute Records gave them rights to Alternative Dance stars Depeche Mode, Yazoo and Erasure (all three of whom were co-founded by songwriter Vince Clarke) in the US and Canada. However, this didn't stop them from signing non-punkers like rapper Ice-T — or Madonna, who soon became Sire's most successful act.

Sire Records performers, past and present, with TV Tropes pages:

• Against Me!
• Aphex Twin*
• The Associates*
• The Avalanches*
• Belly*
• Julie Brown
• David Byrne^note By themselves from 1981 to 1988 and in partnership with Luaka Bop from 1988 to 1994.
• The Cult*
• The Cure*
• Depeche Mode*^note plus Mexico
• Dinosaur Jr.*^note rights now owned by Cherry Red Records
• Echo & the Bunnymen*
• Erasure*^note plus Mexico
• Falco
• Haddaway
• Deborah Harry
• Corey Hart
• Harvey Danger
• Hawkwind*
• HIM
• The Hives*
• Hot Hot Heat
• Ice-T
  • Body Count
• Jack's Mannequin
• Kid Creole and the Coconuts*
• Cyndi Lauper
• Less Than Jake
• Jerry Lee Lewis
• Lights
• Madness*
• Madonna
• Men Without Hats ^note Canada only
• Ministry
• My Bloody Valentine*
• Never Shout Never
• Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
• Pet Shop Boys*
• Pretenders*
• Primal Scream*
• Ramones
• The Ready Set
• Lou Reed
• Renaissance*
• The Replacements
• Ride
• The Searchers
• Silversun Pickups ^note international license
• Simple Minds ^note As with Men Without Hats, Canada only
• Patti Smith^note A reissue of her self-released debut single "Piss Factory"
• The Smiths*
  • Johnny Marr*
  • Morrissey*
• Soft Cell*
• Regina Spektor
• Talking Heads*^note International distribution of their first five albums and initial live album was handled by Sire themselves, but the band shifted over to EMI in 1984; EMI would distribute the band's later material and the 2005 remasters outside of the US and Canada until their dissolution in 2012, after which the band's catalog would shift to Parlophone Records for international territories.
• Tegan & Sara
• Throwing Muses*^note North American rights now owned by Swedish(!) indie Woah Dad!
• Tom Tom Club*
• The Tragically Hip
• Uncle Tupelo
• Underworld
• The Velvet Underground
• The Veronicas
• Wilco
• Brian Wilson
• Yazoo*^note plus Mexico

Performers that Sire reissued as part of The Vintage Years series:

• Paul Anka
• Fleetwood Mac
• The Pretty Things

Performers that Sire reissued as part of The Immediate Story series:

• The Small Faces

* Signed in the US and Canada only

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