Seymour Stein music industry exec who signed Madonna dies aged 80

Stein was a New York City native who as a teenager worked summers at James Brown's record label, King Records, James Brown's label. By his mid-20s had co-founded Sire Productions which would eventually become Sire Records.

He had signed the likes of The Cure, Talking Heads, and The Pretenders, and whilst hospitalised for a heart condition in 1982, he signed Madonna to a $45,000 contract for three singles, with an option for an album, fearing losing out to her amongst competition between other labels. He released "Everybody" that year, and eventually Madonna went on to sell more than 64 million albums in the US alone.

Stein helped found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, as well as the Hot 100 at Billboard. He was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2005.

In Memoriam: Entrepreneur, record executive, and co-founder of Sire Records, Seymour Stein began his career in music as a teenager, clerking at Billboard and learning the business from King Records’ founder Syd Nathan. At Sire’s helm, Stein signed such acts as the Ramones... 1/2 pic.twitter.com/ii40qndWWl

— Rock Hall (@rockhall) April 3, 2023