London-Sire Records

London-Sire Records, Inc.
IndustryMusic Industry
GenreRecord label
PredecessorLondon Recordings
Sire Records Group
FoundedAugust 1999
FounderWarner Music Group
DefunctJanuary 2002
FateClosed
SuccessorSire Records
HeadquartersUnited States
Area served
North America
Key people
Peter Koepke
Seymour Stein
(co-CEOs)
OwnerWarner Music Group
Number of employees
45[1]
Websitelondon-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]

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]

When London-Sire was disbanded in 2002, the label's artists were allowed to transfer to other Warner Music labels.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Pollack, Marc. "LONDON-SIRE'S BURNING". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  2. ^ a b 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.