Elektra Records

Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, and today operates under Atlantic Records Group.

History

Beginnings

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, but in the mid-Sixties it 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 two most important signings were the Los Angeles bands Love and The Doors.

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 Discs which were sent into deep space in 1977 aboard the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes.

The Asylum Records merger

Elektra was acquired by Kinney National Company in 1970, along with the Nonesuch Records subsidiary, for $10 million. 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 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 unoffically 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.

Elektra Entertainment Group

In 1989, the company officially changed its name to Elektra Entertainment. Krasnow was replaced by Sylvia Rhone, who took over as CEO in 1994 and the company became Elektra Entertainment Group (EEG, for short). As the 1990s drew to a close, in spite of having a large stable of noted acts, the company began to noticeably underperform on the charts. It developed a bit of a sullen reputation in the industry for not properly promoting many of its releases and was easily lagging behind its sister labels: Warner Brothers Records and Atlantic Records.

Atlantic absorption

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 with 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 currents status of Elektra, and whether or not it continues to operate is somewhat ambiguous. WMG hasn't made any official announcements of it having been dismantled, and keeps its name highlighted as a seemingly active affiliate on their press statements — however, the label's name hasn't been on a noted release since the merger with Atlantic Records in 2004. Most of its artists today, meanwhile, seem to have their material released through Atlantic instead.

Company Logos

|| The first logo; used in the early to mid 1950s. || The second logo; used from the mid 1950s to the mid 1960s. || The third logo; used from the mid to late 1960s. || The fourth logo; used from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. || The fifth logo; briefly used in the middle 1970s, following Elektra's merger with Asylum. (Used only sporadically, while the proceeding logo remained dominate.) || The sixth logo; used in the early 1980s. || The seventh logo; used from early mid to late 1980s. || The final logo; used from 1989 to 2004.

Logo	Date

Trivia

In 1990 Elektra released the 'Rubaiyat' album to celebrate their 40th anniversary as a record label. The album featured the label's current artists performing cover versions from the Elektra artist back catalogue.

External links

Elektra discography to 1973
Elektra website (redirected to Atlantic Records Web site)

References

A full history of Elektra's Holzman years can be found in Jac Holzman's book Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture.

American record labels | Warner Music labels | 1950 establishments

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