London-Sire Records

Last updated
London-Sire Records, Inc.
Industry Music Industry
Genre Record label
Predecessor London Recordings
Sire Records Group
FoundedAugust 1999
Founder Warner Music Group
DefunctJanuary 2002
FateClosed
Successor Sire Records
HeadquartersUnited States
Area served
North America
Key people
Peter Koepke
Seymour Stein
(co-CEOs)
OwnerWarner Music Group
Number of employees
45 [1]
Website london-sire.com [ dead link ]

London-Sire Records was an American-based record label owned by Warner Music Group, created in August 1999 with the merging of Warner Music Group's struggling Sire Records Group and the US division of London Recordings, which WMG had acquired from Universal Music Group following their merger with PolyGram in December 1998. [2] [3] Seymour Stein remained at the helm as CEO, with Peter Koepke acting as co-head. However, the binding of the two companies proved to be largely unsuccessful, and failed to produce a hit. The label was shuttered by AOL Time Warner at the end of 2001, [1] and played a role in the dissolution of AOL Time Warner's partnership in April 2003. Sire was later relaunched by Stein as an imprint of Warner Bros. Records. [2]

Contents

Notable acts on the label included: Eden's Crush, Scene 23, Guster, Morcheeba, Harvey Danger, Aphex Twin, Orbital, Artful Dodger, Sugababes, The Avalanches, The Tragically Hip, Downthesun and 40 Below Summer.

The label also included Essential Records (London) founded by Pete Tong in London, England, which released dance music compilations from well known DJs and artists such as Paul Oakenfold, Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox, John Digweed, Boy George, DJ Skribble, DJ Icey, and Peter Rauhofer.

Past artists

This is a list of all the artists who were signed to London-Sire Records. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Oakenfold</span> British record producer and trance music DJ

Paul Mark Oakenfold, formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Massive Attack, the Cure, New Order, the Rolling Stones, the Stone Roses and Michael Jackson. Oakenfold was voted the No. 1 DJ in the World twice in 1998 and 1999 by DJ Magazine.

Artful Dodger are a UK garage duo, originally based in the city Southampton, which became famous for its 2-step hits and inaugurated Craig David's professional musical career with his appearance on their 1999 number-two hit "Re-Rewind". They scored seven consecutive UK top-20 hit singles from 1999 to 2001. The band is named after a character in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, because of the many bootlegs they made in the early days. They are referred to in the Streets' single "Let's Push Things Forward". Many Artful Dodger tracks can be found on the UK garage compilation album series Pure Garage, mixed by DJ EZ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warner Music Canada</span> Canadian division of Warner Music Group

Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd., often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA International, which later changed its name to Warner Music International in 1990. It was founded in 1967 as Warner Reprise Canada Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sire Records</span> American record label

Sire Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Danger</span> Alternative rock band

Harvey Danger was an American alternative rock band. It was formed in 1992 in Seattle, Washington, by Aaron Huffman and Jeff J. Lin, who were both journalism students at the University of Washington. Drummer Evan Sult and singer Sean Nelson were brought into the band in 1993, solidifying the band's lineup for the remainder of their initial existence.

Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual acquisition by Warner Music Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Records</span> British record label

China Records was a record label founded 1 October 1984 by Derek Green. Its top-selling artists were Art of Noise, Morcheeba and the Levellers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Tong</span> BBC Radio 1 disc jockey from Dartford, Kent, England

Peter Michael Tong, is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for his record label FFRR Records and for his own performances at nightclubs and music festivals. Tong has also worked as a record producer and is regarded as the "global ambassador for electronic music."

Eden's Crush was an American girl group who were created on the American television series Popstars which aired on the now defunct WB. The group was formed in late 2000 and released the hit song "Get Over Yourself" in 2001, following the finale of the show. The group consisted of Ana Maria Lombo, Ivette Sosa, Maile Misajon, Nicole Scherzinger and Rosanna Tavarez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seymour Stein</span> American entrepreneur and music executive (born 1942)

Seymour Stein is an American entrepreneur and music executive. He co-founded Sire Records and was Vice President of Warner Bros. Records. With Sire, Stein signed bands that became central to the new wave era of the 1970s and 80s, including Talking Heads, the Ramones, and The Pretenders; he signed Madonna as well. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

<i>Big Calm</i> 1998 studio album by Morcheeba

Big Calm is the second studio album by English electronic music group Morcheeba. It was released in March 1998 by Indochina Records and Sire Records. The album reached the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart, while the single "Part of the Process" charted in the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart in August of the same year. "The Music That We Hear", included on special-edition versions of the album, is a reworking of "Moog Island" from Morcheeba's debut album, Who Can You Trust? The album cover was inspired by that of the 1966 Ray Conniff compilation Hi Fi Companion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Harris (musician)</span>

Simon Harris is a DJ, producer, remixer and electronic musician predominantly known as the founder of the hip hop record label Music of Life and producer of most of its catalogue of songs.

Mark Leslie Hill is a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He rose to fame as one half of the Artful Dodger and co-writer and producer of Craig David's multi-platinum debut studio album, Born to Do It. Since he began releasing music in 1997, Hill has achieved four Ivor Novello Awards, a number one album, two number one singles and over 10 million records sales worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downthesun</span> American metal band

Downthesun was an American nu metal band formed in Kansas City, Missouri in 1999. The group was known for their abrasive and heavy sound as well as their association with Slipknot. Downthesun was the only act signed to Slipknot's short-lived record label, Maggot Corps. The group released one studio album, 2002's Downthesun, before breaking up in 2004. They briefly reunited in 2010 and have been inactive since 2011.

Kinetic Records was a New York City-based record label founded by Steve Lau, and co-owned with Alyson Shapero. The label launched the careers of artists and DJs such as Paul Oakenfold, BT, Ray Munns, Deepsky, Kosheen, Tilt, Timo Maas, Grace, Sandra Collins, Billy Thermal, Binary Finary, and Shpongle. Other successful artists on the label included Ash, Sasha and John Digweed, South, Faithless, DJ DAN, LTJ Bukem, Dario G, Luomo, Infected Mushroom, Max Graham, Dave Ralph Music Instructor, and Hybrid. It was also well known for its Tranceport series, of which Paul Oakenfold's first installment is considered to be the breakthrough record for the trance genre with the highest sales of any mix compilation. The release of Sasha's Airdrawndagger and Sasha and Digweed's mix compilation Communicate were also big releases for the label. Kinetic was the exclusive distributor of the Perfecto label in the US as well as the Another Late Night compilation series, which featured Howie B., Fila Brazillia, and Rae and Christian. The label was distributed by Reprise/Warner Bros. Records from its inception until 2001, when Kinetic switched distribution to BMG. The latter eventually absorbed the label during the merger with Sony Music.

Essential Records is a subsidiary of London Records and is an offshoot of Pete Tong's Essential Selection programme on Radio 1.

Perfecto Presents: Another World is the twelfth DJ mix album by British electronic music producer Paul Oakenfold, released in 2000. It is the second instalment in his Perfecto Presents series, a series of DJ mix albums themed around Oakenfold's label Perfecto Records. The album employs Oakenfold's progressive trance sound and sees a return to the Goa trance sound he had helped popularise with Goa Mix (1994) and Perfecto Fluoro (1996). Similar to those albums, it also features a more eclectic array of music genres, featuring music from film soundtracks, the ethereal wave band Dead Can Dance and a remix of a Led Zeppelin song. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, at the time of release, it became the biggest-selling DJ mix album in the United States, where it reached the Top 50 of the Top Electronic Albums chart.

Scott Ialacci, professionally known as DJ Skribble is an American DJ, producer, remixer, radio personality and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrive Music</span> American record label

Thrive Music is a United States-based record label founded in Los Angeles, California, by music industry entrepreneur, Ricardo Vinas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pot of Gold (Game song)</span> 2011 single by Game featuring Chris Brown

"Pot of Gold" is a song by American rapper and West Coast hip hop artist Game featuring vocals from R&B singer Chris Brown, released on June 28, 2011 as the second single from Game's fourth studio album The R.E.D. Album. The artists co-wrote the song with its producers, The Futuristics, with extra writing from Sam Hook, who is signed to R&B singer Ne-Yo's Compound Entertainment label.

References

  1. 1 2 Pollack, Marc. "LONDON-SIRE'S BURNING". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  2. 1 2 Morris, Chris (May 3, 2003). "Sire To Become Stand-Alone Label Again". Billboard : 3.
  3. Lieberman, Allyson (1999-08-06). "WARNER SWINGS THE AX – SIRE RECORDS EXECS CHOPPED IN COST-CUTTING PURGE". New York Post. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  4. "Mailing List". Archived from the original on 24 June 2002. Retrieved 2022-10-11.