Editing I.R.S. Records (section)

==History==
Miles Copeland III, the son of CIA officer [[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 Copeland|Ian]] was the head of a talent agency, Frontier Booking International (F.B.I.), while his brother [[Stewart Copeland|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 (The Police song)|Roxanne]]", that Copeland called a turning point in his life.<ref name="Hunt">{{cite news|last1=Hunt|first1=Dennis|title=Going a Round With Miles Copeland|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-05-ca-6394-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=24 July 2016|date=5 June 1988}}</ref>

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.<ref name="UM">{{cite web|title=UM Entertainment Management|url=http://www.business.umt.edu/programs/umem/instructors/copeland-miles-iii.php|website=Business.umt.edu|access-date=24 July 2016|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306060848/http://www.business.umt.edu/programs/umem/instructors/copeland-miles-iii.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

From 1983 to 1987, I.R.S. Records sponsored a monthly [[MTV]] show called ''[[I.R.S. Records Presents The Cutting Edge]]'', hosted by [[Peter Zaremba (musician)|Peter Zaremba]] of [[The Fleshtones]]. The series concentrated on bands that recorded for the label. The show concept would later evolve into the alternative rock program ''[[120 Minutes]]'', which was launched in 1986 and co-existed with ''Cutting Edge'' for about a year and a half.

I.R.S. releases were distributed by A&M until 1985, then by [[MCA Records]] until 1990, and by [[EMI]] until 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 to [[Rondor Music]] in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web| title = Label Information| work = On A&M Records| accessdate = 2021-10-06| url = https://www.onamrecords.com/labels/rondor-music-international/146449/history}}</ref>

The label folded in May 1996, with its last release being ''[[All Set]]'' by  [[Buzzcocks]], issued two weeks before the closure. Shortly after, Copeland formed [[Ark 21 Records]].
 
In 2011, EMI revived the label; as of 2012, the new label had [[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 [[Jack Clement|Cowboy Jack Clement]] on its roster before being shut down once again in 2015.<ref name="Nashville Imprint">{{cite web|last1=Peoples|first1=Glenn|title=I.R.S. Nashville Imprint Names John Grady President|url=http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/5763216/irs-nashville-imprint-names-john-grady-president|website=Billboard.com|access-date=12 February 2014|date=22 October 2013}}</ref><ref name="Nashville Notes">{{cite web|last1=Stark|first1=Phyllis|last2=Roland|first2=Tom|title=Nashville Notes: Capitol's I.R.S. Nashville Label Shuttered; Zac Brown Band on the Move|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/country/6812855/nashville-notes-irs-nashville-zac-brown-southern-ground|website=Billboard.com|access-date=17 December 2015|date=16 December 2015}}</ref>