Seymour Stein, whose Sire Records launched Madonna’s career and signed early punk rock and new wave icons as The Ramones and Talking Heads, died April 2. He was 80.

Although Mr. Stein’s imprint, founded in 1966, enjoyed major distribution, he also took risks on unproven, underground talent that paid off on the charts, Variety said. Lou Reed, the Pretenders, Ice-T and many others released some of their best music on Sire. Gary Kurfirst, late manager of Talking Heads, said at Stein’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, “Seymour’s taste in music is always a couple of years ahead of everyone else’s.”

Madonna was the commercial turbine that drove Sire through the 1980s. Six of her albums attained multi-platinum status, and two received awards for sales of more than $10 million.

In addition to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, he was honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016 and received a Billboard tribute in 2012.