Music

Seymour Stein, Music Mogul Who Signed Madonna, Dies at 80

RIP

Stein, who helped to set up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died from cancer.

Seymour Stein, founder of Sire Records, speaks upon his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, March 14, 2005.
Mike Segar/Reuters

Seymour Stein, the music industry executive who signed the likes of Madonna, Talking Heads, and The Cure, has died, his family said in a statement. He was 80 years old. The recording titan passed away from cancer in Los Angeles on Sunday, the statement added. As well as helping to launch some of the best loved acts in musical history with his Sire Records label, Stein also helped to create the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the 1980s and was himself inducted in 2005. “I am beyond grateful for every minute our family spent with him, and that the music he brought to the world impacted so many people’s lives in a positive way,” his daughter, Mandy Stein, said in a statement Sunday.

Read it at Associated Press