Editing I.R.S. Records

{{Short description|American record label}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| bgcolor = #000000
| name        = {{color|white|I.R.S. Records}}
| image       = [[File:I.R.S. Records logo.svg|130px|class=skin-invert]]
| image_size  = 130px
| image_alt   = <!-- WP:ALT text describing the image -->
| caption     = <!-- a caption for the image -->
| parent      = [[Universal Music Group]]
| founded     = 1979 (original)<br /> 2012 (relaunch)
| founder     = [[Miles Copeland III]]<br />[[Jay Boberg]]
| fate        = <!-- explain the reason of the closing-->
| defunct     = May 1996 (original)<br />2015 (relaunch)
| status      = Defunct
| distributor = [[A&M Records|A&M]] (1979–1985)<br />[[MCA Records|MCA]] (1985–1990)<br />[[EMI]] (1990–1996)<br />EMI (2011–2012)<br />[[Caroline Distribution]] (2013–2015)<br>[[Capitol Music Group]]/[[Universal Music Enterprises|UMe]] (2015–present)
| genre       = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]|[[New wave music|new wave]]}}
| country     = United States
| location    = <!-- headquarters city and state -->
| url         = {{URL|www.onamrecords.com/IRS_Records.html|onamrecords.com}}
}}

'''I.R.S. Records''' was a major American record label founded by [[Miles Copeland III]] and [[Jay Boberg]] in 1979.<ref>Billboard.biz, [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/irs-records-be-relaunched-by-202029 "IRS Records to be Relaunched by EMI, Crush Management"], ''The Hollywood Reporter'', June 15, 2011</ref> I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by [[college rock]], [[new wave music|new wave]] and [[alternative rock]] artists, including [[R.E.M.]], [[the Go-Go's]], [[Wall of Voodoo]], and [[Fine Young Cannibals]]. Currently the label is distributed by parent company [[Universal Music Group]].<ref name="History">{{cite web|title=I.R.S. Records History On A&M Records.com|url=http://www.onamrecords.com/IRS_Records.html|website=Onamrecords.com|access-date=20 July 2016}}</ref>

==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>

==Faulty Products labels==
Faulty Products was the UK holding company for I.R.S. Records of the UK record labels set up by Copeland. It included [[Illegal Records]], [[Deptford Fun City Records]] and others. Faulty Products was also an American [[independent record label]] and distribution company for other indie labels between 1980 and 1982. Faulty handled artists (such as [[The 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.<ref name=PaulMarko/> The label released The Police's debut single, "[[Fall Out (song)|Fall Out]]". Deptford Fun City Records was set up by Miles Copeland in the late 1970s as an outlet for Deptford, England bands such as [[Alternative TV]] and [[Squeeze (band)|Squeeze]].<ref name=PaulMarko>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4bmVbNSnk4C&pg=PA177 |page=177 |first1=Stuart |last1=Borthwick |first2=Ron |last2=Moy |title=Popular Music Genres: an introduction |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |date=2004 |isbn=9780748617456 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rcnVLioLCNIC&pg=PA229 |page=229 |title=The Roxy London WC2: A Punk History |last=Marko|first=Paul|publisher=The Roxy Club London:Punk |date=2007 |isbn=978-0955658303}}</ref>

[[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, and [[William 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 on [[house music]], a type of electronic dance music. The most prominent releases on its roster were by the production team [[Murk (band)|Murk]] and also the song "[[So Get Up]]" an iconic vocal poem by Californian author/songwriter [[Ithaka (artist)|Ithaka Darin Pappas]], backed by the [[Progressive house]] sounds of USL from Lisbon, Portugal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redbull.com/mx/es/music/stories/1331605858568/ocurri%C3%B3-aqu%C3%AD...-el-dance-portugu%C3%A9s-salta-a-la-fama|title=Ocurrió aquí... El dance portugués salta a la fama|website=Redbull.com|access-date=30 August 2017}}</ref> DiStefano went on to found Twisted America Records.

==Roster==
I.R.S.'s roster of musicians included:<ref name="History" />
{{div col|colwidth=9.7em|gap=0em}}
* [[The Alarm]]
* [[The Bangles|Bangles]]
* [[Berlin (band)|Berlin]]
* [[Black Sabbath]]
* [[Buzzcocks]]
* [[John Cale]]
* [[Candi & The Backbeat]]
* [[Candyman (rapper)|Candyman]]
* [[Belinda Carlisle]]
* [[Caterwaul (band)|Caterwaul]]
* [[Chrome Molly]]
* [[Concrete Blonde]]
* [[Stewart Copeland]]
* [[The Cramps]]
* [[Marillion]]
* [[Dada (band)|Dada]]
* [[The Damned (band)|The Damned]]
* [[Dead Kennedys]]
* [[The English Beat]]
* [[The Fall (band)|The Fall]]
* [[Fine Young Cannibals]]
* [[The Fleshtones]]
* [[General Public]]
* [[Genitorturers|The Genitorturers]]
* [[Gren]]
* [[The Go-Go's]]
* [[hHead]]
* [[Henry Badowski]]
* [[Jools Holland]]
* [[Stewart Copeland#The Police (1977–1986)|Klark Kent]]
* [[Let's Active]]
* [[The Lords of the New Church]]
* [[Magazine (band)|Magazine]]
* [[Mekong Delta (band)|Mekong Delta]]
* [[Gary Numan]]
* [[Nuclear Assault]]
* [[Oingo Boingo]]
* [[Over the Rhine (band)|Over the Rhine]]
* [[R.E.M.]]
* [[Renaissance (band)|Renaissance]]
* [[Scott Merritt]]
* [[Seduce (band)|Seduce]]
* [[Shampoo]]
* [[Stan Ridgway]]
* [[Skafish]]
* [[The Stranglers]]
* [[Sahotas]]
* [[Timbuk 3]]
* [[Torch Song (band)|Torch Song]]
* Twinset and the Pearl
* [[Wall of Voodoo]]
* [[William Orbit]]
* YEN
{{div col end}}

==Sales certifications==
I.R.S. Records released three albums that have been certified as platinum or multi-platinum, for sales of over 1 million units, by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]]: ''[[Beauty and the Beat (The Go-Go's album)|Beauty and the Beat]]'' by [[The Go-Go's]] (1981), ''[[Document (album)|Document]]'' by [[R.E.M.]] (1987) and ''[[The Raw & the Cooked (album)|The Raw & the Cooked]]'' by [[Fine Young Cannibals]] (1989).<ref name="riaa">{{cite web |title=Gold & Platinum - I.R.S. Records |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=&ti=&lab=i.r.s.&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section |website=RIAA |access-date=18 April 2019}}</ref> Seven additional albums have also been certified gold for sales of at least 500,000 copies: ''[[Murmur (album)|Murmur]]'' (1983), ''[[Reckoning (R.E.M. album)|Reckoning]]'' (1984), ''[[Fables of the Reconstruction]]'' (1985) and ''[[Lifes Rich Pageant]]'' (1986), all by R.E.M., ''[[Vacation (The Go-Go's album)|Vacation]]'' by The Go-Go's (1982), ''[[Belinda (Belinda Carlisle album)|Belinda]]'' by [[Belinda Carlisle]] (1986) and ''[[Bloodletting (Concrete Blonde album)|Bloodletting]]'' by [[Concrete Blonde]] (1990).<ref name="riaa"/>

==I.R.S. compilation album==
''On the Charts'' was a 1994 compilation album that chronicled I.R.S. Records from 1979 to 1994.

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

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.irsnashville.com/ I.R.S. Nashville]
* [http://www.onamrecords.com/IRS_Records.html I.R.S. history at A&M Records]
* [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/irs-records-be-relaunched-by-202029]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:IRS Records}}
[[Category:I.R.S. Records| ]]
[[Category:American record labels]]
[[Category:Record labels established in 1979]]
[[Category:Record labels disestablished in 1996]]
[[Category:Record labels established in 2011]]
[[Category:Record labels disestablished in 2015]]
[[Category:Re-established companies]]
[[Category:New wave record labels]]
[[Category:Rock record labels]]
[[Category:Universal Music Group]]
[[Category:Labels distributed by Universal Music Group]]
[[Category:1979 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1996 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:2011 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:2015 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:A&M Records]]
[[Category:MCA Records]]
[[Category:Capitol Records]]
[[Category:EMI]]