I.R.S. Records was started in the US in 1979 by Miles Copeland (the older brother of Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Police).

Acts on I.R.S. included R.E.M., The Go-Gos, Oingo Boingo, The Buzzcocks, and General Public. An instrumental-only imprint, I.R.S. No Speak, released albums by Stewart Copeland and William Orbit. I.R.S. also produced the MTV series The Cutting Edge, which aired on Sunday nights with 120 Minutes.

I.R.S. releases were distributed by A&M Records until 1985, by MCA Records until 1990, and distributed by Enigma Records until the label folded in 1996.

"I.R.S." stood for "International Record Syndicate" (or "Independent Record Syndicate" on some early releases); it should not be confused with the Internal Revenue Service, the United States income tax agency.

See also

• List of record labels

External links

• I.R.S. Records History 1979-1985 (http://www.onamrecords.com/IRS_Records.html)
• Mr. Bill's I.R.S. Records Corner (http://www.irscorner.com/)
• Discogs: I.R.S. discography (http://www.discogs.com/label/I.R.S.+Records)