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I.R.S. Records

(Redirected fromIRS Records)

I.R.S. Recordswas a major American record label founded byMiles Copeland IIIandJay Bobergin 1979.[1]I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records bycollege rock,new waveandalternative rockartists, includingR.E.M.,The Go-Go's,Wall of Voodoo,andFine Young Cannibals.Currently the label is distributed by parent companyUniversal Music Group.[2]

I.R.S. Records
Parent companyUniversal Music Group
Founded1979 (original)
2012 (relaunch)
FounderMiles Copeland III
Jay Boberg
DefunctMay 1996 (original)
2015 (relaunch)
StatusDefunct
Distributor(s)A&M(1979–1985)
MCA(1985–1990)
EMI(1990–1996)
EMI (2011–2012)
Caroline Distribution(2013–2015)
Capitol Music Group/UMe(2015–present)
Genre
Country of originUnited States
Official websiteonamrecords.com

History

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Miles Copeland III, the son of CIA officerMiles Copeland Jr.,played many roles in the U.K.punk rockandnew wave musicindustry of the middle to late 1970s: agent, manager, producer, magazine publisher, record company and label owner. His brotherIanwas the head of a talent agency, Frontier Booking International (F.B.I.), while his brotherStewartplayed drums forThe Police,a band that Copeland managed. The Police's first album was released onA&M Recordsin 1978 with a hit single, "Roxanne",that Copeland called a turning point in his life.[3]

Building on success with the Police, Copeland convincedJerry Moss,co-owner of A&M, to establish the I.R.S. division in 1979. I.R.S. stood for International Record Syndicate.[4]

From 1983 to 1987, I.R.S. Records sponsored a monthlyMTVshow calledI.R.S. Records Presents The Cutting Edge,hosted byPeter ZarembaofThe Fleshtones.The series concentrated on bands that recorded for the label. The show concept would later evolve into the alternative rock program120 Minutes,which was launched in 1986 and co-existed withCutting Edgefor about a year and a half.

I.R.S. releases were distributed by A&M until 1985, then byMCA Recordsuntil 1990, and byEMIuntil the label folded in 1996. In 1985, Copeland brokered a deal to switch the label's distributor to MCA Records. Under the agreement, A&M continued to release the label's pre-1985 catalog, much of which still can be found under the A&M banner. Copeland sold the I.R.S. music publishing toRondor Musicin 1995.[5]

The label folded in May 1996, with its last release beingAll SetbyBuzzcocks,issued two weeks before the closure. Shortly after, Copeland formedArk 21 Records.

In 2011, EMI revived the label; as of 2012, the new label hadChiddy BangandFoxy Shazamon its roster. In October 2013, shortly after the integration of EMI into its successor,Universal Music Group,the label was revived again as I.R.S. Nashville, withStriking Matches,Marc ScibiliaandCowboy Jack Clementon its roster before being shut down once again in 2015.[6][7]

Faulty Products labels

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Faulty Products was the UK holding company for I.R.S. Records of the UK record labels set up by Copeland. It includedIllegal Records,Deptford Fun City Recordsand others. Faulty Products was also an Americanindependent record labeland distribution company for other indie labels between 1980 and 1982. Faulty handled artists (such asThe Bangles) that did not go through I.R.S.'s distribution deal with A&M.

Illegal Records was set up by Miles Copeland with his younger brother Stewart and the manager of The Police, Paul Mulligan.[8]The label released The Police's debut single, "Fall Out".Deptford Fun City Records was set up by Miles Copeland in the late 1970s as an outlet for Deptford, England bands such asAlternative TVandSqueeze.[8][9]

I.R.S. No Speak,also known as No Speak Records, was set up as an all-instrumental imprint of I.R.S. in January 1988. It released albums by Stewart Copeland, Wishbone Ash, andWilliam Orbit.

Tribal America was a label run by Rob DiStefano that was distributed by I.R.S. from 1991 until IRS folded in 1996. It concentrated onhouse music,a type of electronic dance music. The most prominent releases on its roster were by the production teamMurkand also the song "So Get Up"an iconic vocal poem by Californian author/songwriterIthaka Darin Pappas,backed by theProgressive housesounds of USL from Lisbon, Portugal.[10]DiStefano went on to found Twisted America Records.

Roster

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I.R.S.'s roster of musicians included:[2]

Sales certifications

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I.R.S. Records released three albums that have been certified as platinum or multi-platinum, for sales of over 1 million units, by theRecording Industry Association of America:Beauty and the BeatbyThe Go-Go's(1981),DocumentbyR.E.M.(1987) andThe Raw & the CookedbyFine Young Cannibals(1989).[11]Seven additional albums have also been certified gold for sales of at least 500,000 copies:Murmur(1983),Reckoning(1984),Fables of the Reconstruction(1985) andLifes Rich Pageant(1986), all by R.E.M.,Vacationby The Go-Go's (1982),BelindabyBelinda Carlisle(1986) andBloodlettingbyConcrete Blonde(1990).[11]

I.R.S. compilation album

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On the Chartswas a 1994 compilation album that chronicled I.R.S. Records from 1979 to 1994.

  1. "Our Lips Are Sealed"– The Go-Go's
  2. "Mexican Radio"[Edit] – Wall of Voodoo
  3. "Only a Lad"– Oingo Boingo
  4. "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades"–Timbuk3
  5. "Save It for Later"– The English Beat
  6. "She Drives Me Crazy"–Fine Young Cannibals
  7. "Mad About You"[Single Mix] –Belinda Carlisle
  8. "Tenderness"– General Public
  9. "The One I Love"– R.E.M.
  10. "Joey"–Concrete Blonde
  11. "Rain in the Summertime" [Edit] – The Alarm
  12. "Dizz Knee Land"–Dada

References

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  1. ^Billboard.biz,"IRS Records to be Relaunched by EMI, Crush Management",The Hollywood Reporter,June 15, 2011
  2. ^ab"I.R.S. Records History On A&M Records.com".Onamrecords.com.Retrieved20 July2016.
  3. ^Hunt, Dennis (5 June 1988)."Going a Round With Miles Copeland".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved24 July2016.
  4. ^"UM Entertainment Management".Business.umt.edu.Archived fromthe originalon 6 March 2019.Retrieved24 July2016.
  5. ^"Label Information".On A&M Records.Retrieved2021-10-06.
  6. ^Peoples, Glenn (22 October 2013)."I.R.S. Nashville Imprint Names John Grady President".Billboard.com.Retrieved12 February2014.
  7. ^Stark, Phyllis; Roland, Tom (16 December 2015)."Nashville Notes: Capitol's I.R.S. Nashville Label Shuttered; Zac Brown Band on the Move".Billboard.com.Retrieved17 December2015.
  8. ^abBorthwick, Stuart; Moy, Ron (2004).Popular Music Genres: an introduction.Edinburgh University Press. p. 177.ISBN9780748617456.
  9. ^Marko, Paul (2007).The Roxy London WC2: A Punk History.The Roxy Club London:Punk. p. 229.ISBN978-0955658303.
  10. ^"Ocurrió aquí... El dance portugués salta a la fama".Redbull.com.Retrieved30 August2017.
  11. ^ab"Gold & Platinum - I.R.S. Records".RIAA.Retrieved18 April2019.
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