is an
American Record Label owned by
Warner Music Group , which today operates under
Atlantic Records Group .
Elektra was formed in
1950 by
Jac Holzman and
Paul Rickholt , who both invested $300. The usual spelling of the
Greek Mythological heroine
Electra was changed, with Holzman famously explaining, “I gave her the ‘K’ that I lacked.”
The first Elektra LP, “New Songs” (EKLP 1 released March 1950), was a collection of
Lieder which sold few copies. During the Fifties and early Sixties the label concentrated on
Folk Music recordings, releasing a number of best-selling albums by
Judy Collins and
Protest Singers such as
Phil Ochs , but by the mid-Sixties it had branched out into pop, gaining considerable prestige on the music scene by being one of the first labels to sign up leading acts from the new wave of American
Psychedelic Rock of 1966–67. The label’s most important signings were Chicago based, Paul Butterfield Blues Band (with Michael Bloomfield) and the Los Angeles bands
Love and
The Doors ; and also the Detroit bands
The Stooges and
MC5 .
Also in
1967 , Elektra launched its influential
Nonesuch Explorer Series , one of the first collections of what is now referred to as
World Music . Excerpts from several Nonesuch Explorer recordings were later included on the two
Voyager Golden Disc s which were sent into deep space in
1977 aboard the
Voyager 1 and
Voyager 2 space probes.
Elektra was acquired by
Kinney National Company in
1970 , along with the
Nonesuch Records subsidiary. Soon afterwards Kinney consolidated their label holdings under the
Warner Communications umbrella. Holzman remained in charge until
1972 , when it merged with
Asylum Records to become Elektra/Asylum Records, with Asylum's founder,
David Geffen , now in charge. Holzman was appointed senior vice president and chief technologist for Warner and ushered the company into home video and the first interactive cable system. Holzman also went on to start
Discovery Records . In
1975 Geffen stepped down due to health problems.
Although the company was technically listed as “Elektra/Asylum Records” on the label credits, as the years went on the company began to unofficially call itself ''Elektra Records'' again, with Asylum operating as a subsidiary label.
Bob Krasnow became president and CEO of Elektra in
1983 , and under his leadership the label continued to thrive.
In .
In February
2004 ,
Warner Music Group was sold by
Time Warner to a group of private investors made up of
Thomas Lee Partners ,
Bain & Company , and
Edgar Bronfman, Jr. (who assumed CEO duties).
Looking for ways to save money, the new owners of WMG decided to merge Elektra and Atlantic Records. Because it was the lesser performing label of the two, 40% of Elektra's operations were put into the new venture—while a commanding 60% of Atlantic's went in. Subsequently, the new company was called "
Atlantic Records Group " with Elektra breaking off into a subsidiary underneath it.
The current status of Elektra, and whether or not it continues to operate, is somewhat ambiguous. WMG has not made any official announcements of it having been dismantled, and keeps its name and logo highlighted as a seemingly active imprint on their press statements—however, the label's name has not been on a noted release since the merger with Atlantic Records in
2004 . Today many of its acts, meanwhile, have their material released through Atlantic instead.
Elektra's catalog continues to be released/reissued by ,
2006 .
Elektra is now considered a major label with nearly 200 artists.
