IRS Records
| I.R.S. Records | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder |
Miles Copeland III Jay Boberg |
| Defunct | 1996 |
| Status | Defunct |
| Distributor(s) |
A&M (1979–1985) MCA (1985–1990) EMI (1990–1996) EMI (2011–2012) Caroline Distribution (2013–2015) |
| Genre | New wave, rock |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
| Official website | onamrecords |
I.R.S. Records was an American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, including R.E.M. and The Go-Go's.
Miles Copeland III, the son of CIA agent Miles Copeland Jr., played many roles in the U.K. punk rock and new wave music industry of the middle to late 1970s: agent, manager, producer, magazine publisher, record company and label owner. His brother Ian was the head of a talent agency, Frontier Booking International (F.B.I.), while his brother Stewart played drums for The Police, a band that Copeland managed. The Police's first album was released on A&M Records in 1978 with a hit single, "Roxanne", that Copeland called a turning point in his life.
Building on success with the Police, Copeland convinced Jerry Moss, co-owner of A&M, to establish the I.R.S. division in 1979. I.R.S. stood for International Record Syndicate.
I.R.S. releases were distributed by A&M until 1985, by MCA Records until 1990, and by EMI until the label folded in 1996. In 2011, EMI revived the label; as of 2012, the new label has Chiddy Bang and Foxy Shazam on 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, with Striking Matches, Marc Scibilia and Cowboy Jack Clement on its roster before being shut down once again in 2015.
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. The last I.R.S release was All Set (1996) by the Buzzcocks. Shortly after, Copeland formed Ark 21 Records.
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