During the 1950s and early 1960s, the label concentrated on folk music recordings, releasing a number of best-selling albums by Theodore Bikel, Ed McCurdy, Oscar Brand, and Judy Collins, and protest singers such as Phil Ochs and Tom Paxton.

Elektra, along with its Nonesuch Records subsidiary, was acquired by Kinney National Services in 1970, which changed its name to Warner Communications in 1972.

[1] Holzman, in the meantime, was appointed senior vice president and chief technologist for Warner — ushering the company into home video and the first interactive cable system.

Joe Smith, whose leadership resulted in the biggest market share and gross revenues Elektra Asylum was to have, inherited the A&R services of Chuck Plotkin, famed later for producing many of Bruce Springsteen's greatest records, followed up by George Daly, who is credited as bringing in seminal new wave band The Cars, setting Elektra, again, on another artist direction.

The following year, Bob Krasnow became president and CEO of Elektra; under his leadership, the label reached its commercial peak throughout the rest of the 1980s and early to mid-1990s.

During the Bob Krasnow era, the label became home to a wide range of artists, such as Metallica, Yngwie Malmsteen, Faster Pussycat, Mötley Crüe, Phish, Tracy Chapman, 10,000 Maniacs, They Might Be Giants, The Cure, The Sugarcubes, Stereolab, Luna, The Call, X, The Afghan Whigs, Anita Baker, Linda Ronstadt, Natalie Cole, Brand Nubian, KMD, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and Ween.

Unhappy with major structural changes enacted by then Warner Music Group chairman Robert Morgado, Bob Krasnow abruptly resigned in July 1994, and others soon followed; the highly respected Warner Bros CEO Mo Ostin decided not to renew his contract and left in December 1994, and Ostin's friend and protégé Lenny Waronker left early the next year.

In September 1994, another damaging controversy erupted when heavy metal band Metallica filed suit against Elektra to terminate their contract and gain ownership of their master recordings.

The group based its claim on a section of the California Labor Code, that allows employees to be released from a personal services contract after seven years.

By this time, Metallica had been with the label for more than a decade and had racked up sales over 40 million records, but they were still operating under the terms of their original 1984 contract, which provided a relatively low 14% royalty rate.

[13] The group also claimed that they were taking the action because Robert Morgado had refused to honor a new deal they had worked out with Bob Krasnow shortly before he quit the label.

In January, the group and Elektra jointly announced that they had settled the suit, and although a nondisclosure agreement kept the terms secret, media sources claimed, "a significant increase in royalty payments to the band as well as a renegotiation of the group's recording contract were key factors in Metallica and Elektra coming to terms.

"[15] Despite having a large stable of noted acts, as the 1990s drew to a close, Elektra began to see a slump in revenue, while noticeably underperforming on the charts.

Subsequently, the new company was called Atlantic Records Group, with Elektra breaking off into a subsidiary that became dormant until the label was revived in 2009 (though longtime time Elektra artists such as Tracy Chapman, Björk, and Yolanda Adams continued to have releases on the label, while newer signees such as Jason Mraz and Jet were transferred to Atlantic).

Elektra co-presidents answered, though, to Atlantic Records Group Chairman and CEO Craig Kallman and Chairwoman and COO Julie Greenwald.

The umbrella group means that Fueled by Ramen, Low Country Sound and Roadrunner have been placed into a singular unit with 300 Entertainment's labels.