I.R.S. (International Record Syndicate) was formed in 1979 by Miles Copeland (2) as an American version of a group of punk & new wave labels that he operated in the UK under the umbrella name Faulty Products (a name that he later used for an I.R.S. sub-label in the US).

Initially a A&M Records sublabel, I.R.S. moved distribution to MCA Records in 1985, and to Capitol/EMI's CEMA Distribution in 1990.

Some I.R.S. releases were issued for the UK and continental Europe through Copeland's label Illegal Records (2). Copeland also established local I.R.S. offices in conjunction with his Illegal divisions in those countries.

Please add to the release/submission notes anything that would help clarify the country and label situation, such as any fine print regarding copyright and marketing/manufacturing/distribution etc.

I.R.S. was closed down in 1996, and in 1997 Copeland formed a new label, Ark 21 Records.

The EMI Group revived the I.R.S. label with a new roster in 2011.

Name variations as it appears on one or more releases:
- IRS Records

NOTES ON I.R.S. CATALOG NUMBERS:

I.R.S. used several different catalog numbering systems over the years. Here is a primer on the patterns used during each of the three eras. There are a few releases that fall outside of these patterns, but these should be used where possible.

A&M Era (1979-1985 & several later reissues)
[SP prefix is replaced with CS for cassettes and CD for CDs.]
SP 000 - first 9 LP releases (000 to 009)
SP 70000 - subsequent LP releases (70010+)
SP 70400/70500 - 12" singles/EPs/mini-albums
SP 70600 - "developing artists" series
SP 70800 - double-LP releases
SP 75000 - "midline reissue" series
SP 70950 - promotional releases
IR 7700 - 7" EPs
IR 8000/9000 - 7" singles

MCA Era (1985-1990)
[IRS prefix is replaced with IRSC for cassettes and IRSD for CDs.]
IRS-5000/6000 - albums
IRS-7000 - singles/EPs
IRS-23000 - singles/EPs
IRS-42000 - albums
IRS-74000 - singles/EPs
IRS-81000/82000 - albums

Capitol/EMI Era (1990-1996)
X#-13000 - albums ('#' in prefix is replaced with 1 for vinyl, 2 for CDs & 4 for cassettes.)
V-13800/13900/58000 - 12" singles (some use a 'Y-' prefix rather than 'V-')
X25G-13800/13900/58000 - CD singles
SPRO-67000 - promotional releases
A few Capitol/EMI editions did not use this series, and instead used the UPC code for the catalog number.

For more information on these numbering series, visit one of the websites linked below.

Label code: LC 7014/LC 7283