Madonna Mourns The Tragic Death Of Music Exec Behind Her Big Break, Seymour Stein
Music executive Seymour Stein died on April 2, 2023, at 80 years old from brain cancer. He was the founder and the head of Sire Records. His diverse taste in music stood out to artists, and people liked the way he approached record deals — seeing the musicians as independent rather than under his leadership. Sire Records produced music for Ice-T, The Pretenders, The Cure, and Talking Heads. But he is best known for kick-starting Madonna's career.
"I really feel like he created a soundtrack that is untouchable," his daughter, Mandy, reminisced to The Hollywood Reporter. "He was relentless with his spirit of making sure that these artists got heard." She went on to say that he was "generous," as he never took away the talent of the artists who he signed. "He really believed that good music would be found, and he was a collaborative person and gave credit to everyone that was a part of his team," she added.
Mandy also mentioned what her late father's last couple of years looked like. "He lived in Los Angeles with my children and I," she said. "He almost went in the pool every day and he would listen to the music that he loved so much." She added that he helped his granddaughter with her Bat Mitzvah studies. And it seems that the music executive inspired many from his daughter to Madonna.
Madonna reminisces on how Seymour Stein changed her life
On March 3, 2023, Madonna took to Instagram to share her thoughts on the death of music executive Seymour Stein. "He Was one of the most influential Men in my Life!!" she captioned her post. "He changed and Shaped my world." She then went on to tell the story about how she met Stein, explaining that a DJ agreed to play her demo, and someone from Sire Records — the record label Stein founded — happened to be at the club.
Madonna continued to recall that Stein signed her to a record label while he was in the hospital for a heart ailment. "This moment changed the course of my Life Forever," she wrote. "And was the beginning of my journey as a Musical Artist. Not only did Seymour hear me but he Saw me and my Potential! For this I will be eternally grateful!"
In his 2018 memoir, "Siren Song: My Life in Music," Stein also recalled the time he met Madonna and signed her to a record label. He noted that he particularly liked the singer's confidence, ambition and bluntness. "Lots of people have written about Madonna's natural star power, and it's absolutely true that even when she was still a complete unknown, she filled up every room and oozed a dazzling aura that even a hardened vet like me wasn't immune to," he wrote.