About Seymour Stein:
In music business legend Seymour Stein's lifelong adventure with rock and roll, he has been prominently engaged in wave after wave of popular music’s successive cycles of taste, from the Brill Building sound of the 1960s through to his wholesale signing of New York punk luminaries like the Ramones and the Talking Heads in the 1970s, and a little later, Madonna and the Pretenders, right up until today with bands like the Von Bondies. His ability to divine what’s great in each new generation of music has made Stain one of the rare record company men whose appreciation and approbation is sought not only as a means to a career and money, but also as an artistic accolade. His label, Sire, is a crucial example of the evolution of an American indie.
As the head of Sire Records, Seymour Stein is best known for signing Madonna. Yet, the seasoned exec has worked with some of the most talented and notorious characters in the business, including Syd Nathan, Phil Spector and Leiber & Stoller. In addition, Stein has also proved himself to have a great ear for talent, signing such influential acts as the Ramones and Fleetwood Mac, among others.
Always known for his great ability to see talent, Stein was one of the only major record heads to recognize the validity and significance of punk and new wave music, signing the Ramones, Talking Heads and Richard Hell and the Voidoids. In the early '80s, Stein made the biggest signing of his career when, recovering from open-heart surgery in a hospital bed, he signed a young Madonna after hearing a rough demo version of "Everybody."
Sire’s big break was to come in 1975, when Stein signed the Ramones, followed by the Talking Heads in 1976. Aware as always of shifting musical trends, Stein immediately sensed the importance of the New York downtown scene, and the punk – soon to be New Wave – music emanating from clubs like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City. A year later, Sire concluded a distribution deal with Mo Osstin and Lenny Waronker at Warner Brothers, after which there was just no looking back. Stein’s signings were virtually synonymous with New York’s punk scene, with a roster of downtown luminaries like the Ramones, the Talking Heads, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, and the Dead Boys, among others. The Warners deal ushered in an 18-year period of unrivalled success for the label.
From 1976 onwards Stein’s artists represent a dazzling spread of music, featuring both gold, platinum, and multi-platinum acts as well as more subtly influential bands. This important list includes Madonna, the Pretenders, Depeche Mode, Ice-T, the Cure, Soft Cell, Everything But the Girl, Aztec Camera, the Cult, Modern English, Madness, Erasure, kd lang, the Replacements, M, Laid Back, the Smiths, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Dinosaur Jr., Seal, Barenaked Ladies, Ofra Haza, the Pink Fairies, the Rezillos, Johnny Thunders, the Undertones, Echo & the Bunnymen, Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, Throwing Muses, Belly, Spacehog, Lou Reed, Pet Shop Boys, Deborah Harry, Aphex Twin, Boy George, Ministry, Flamin’ Groovies, the Saints, Radio Birdman and Plastic Bertrand. In fact, Stein’s stature as a tastemaker became so great that the indie band, Belle and Sebastian, named a song after him.
When Sire was purchased by Warners in 1980, Stein stayed on as President and continued to focus on artist development and run the company in much the same style and manner as when it was independent.
In 1995, Stein became President of Elektra Records. Then, in 1997, Sire was reborn as the Sire Records Group, later to merge with London Records. During this period, Stein signed and developed acts including Spacehog, Aphex Twin, Morcheeba, Paul Oakenfold, Guster, Everything, and Mojave 3, and helped restart the American careers of Boy George and Pet Shop Boys.
In 2002, Stein came home to Warner Bros., at the invitation of Tom Whalley and re-launched Sire. Today, Sire remains as eclectic as it was back in the 1960s with a roster that includes H.I.M., the Von Bondies, the Veronicas from Australia, Hot Hot Heat from Canada, the Distillers, the Fags and others, with A&R duties shared jointly by Stein and his partner, Michael Goldstone.
Today Stein remains one of the most offbeat and fastest-moving corporate execs in the Warner communications empire and is widely regarded as having the best ears in the business.
Follow DreamInc:
Seymour Stein Video Gallery
• Tent Talk Part 1view ››
• Tent Talk Part 2view ››
• Weekend Sunrise Interview view ››
