Seymour Stein, co-founder of Sire Records, dead at 80
Seymour Stein, the legendary co-founder of Sire Records who developed a reputation for signing iconic talents such as Madonna, passed away on Sunday, April 2nd, at the age of 80.
Having had a definitive impact on the landscape of the music industry through both Sire and Warner Bros Records, Stein demonstrated an intuitive ability to detect talent. Ranging from Talking Heads to the Ramones, Stein’s signings became a central part of the new wave era that gathered a lot of critical momentum during the 1970s.
During a 2018 conversation with The Guardian, Stein revealed: “Ears are very important. If you don’t have them, you better hire someone who does. And there are some record companies [where] the heads of whom are not the ear people. The business people may have been fortunate to get the right people around them. I was never like that because I could never afford them. I had to do all of it. I don’t think I’m a bad businessman, and I may not be the greatest A&R man, but I think it’s my ears that got me through.”
The renowned music executive added: “What attracts me to a band is their music, their songs. I don’t look for how good they are with their musicianship. That will definitely improve and can improve. I’ve never gone after a big band; they’re all young bands I’m after. You have to see what’s in the songs. Musicianship can always improve, but at least a germ of the songwriting has to be there from the start.”
While talking to The Hollywood Reporter, his daughter Mandy Stein confirmed that the American entrepreneur passed away due to complications caused by cancer. When asked about the last couple of years, Mandy revealed: “He lived in Los Angeles with my children and I. He almost went in the pool every day, and he would listen to the music that he loved so much, singing doo-wop and a lot of music from his childhood; doo-wop and country western, like Hank Williams, and just would be belting it out in the pool.”
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