Who Owns Elektra Music Group?

Elektra Records was originally founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman in New York City. Holzman, then a student at St. John's College, started the label with $600 borrowed from his father. The label's early releases focused on folk music, but Elektra soon expanded into other genres. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Elektra signed landmark artists including The Doors, Queen, The Stooges, MC5, Carly Simon, and Leonard Cohen. Elektra also played a significant role in the development of psychedelic rock and punk rock.

In 1970, Elektra was acquired by Kinney National Company (which later became Warner Communications), bringing the label into the Warner Music Group family. Elektra continued operating as a distinct label within the Warner portfolio for decades. In 1994, Elektra was merged with Atlantic Records' EastWest Records to form the Elektra Entertainment Group, though this structure was eventually dissolved.

By the mid-2010s, the Elektra brand had been largely dormant within Warner Music Group. In June 2018, WMG announced that Elektra would be relaunched as a standalone, fully staffed music group on October 1, 2018. The new entity, called Elektra Music Group, was headed by Co-Presidents Mike Easterlin and Gregg Nadel, who reported to Atlantic Records Group Chairman and CEO Craig Kallman and Chairman and COO Julie Greenwald.

The relaunch brought together several existing WMG labels under the Elektra Music Group umbrella: Elektra, Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner, Low Country Sound, and Black Cement Records. A number of major artists moved over from the Atlantic system, including Twenty One Pilots, Zac Brown Band, Paramore, Sturgill Simpson, Brandi Carlile, Fitz and the Tantrums, Slipknot, Panic! at the Disco, Coheed and Cambria, Kaleo, and Gojira.

The label group's first release was Twenty One Pilots' album "Trench," released on October 5, 2018, through Fueled By Ramen. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum.

Since the 2018 relaunch, Elektra Music Group has continued to build its roster. The label group has signed artists including Fall Out Boy, Tones and I, Bailey Zimmerman, Alec Benjamin, Maisie Peters, jxdn, Travis Barker, One Ok Rock, and Turnstile. The group now operates under the name Elektra Entertainment, reflecting its evolution from a standalone music group to an integrated entertainment label.

In 2025, Twenty One Pilots released "Breach," their eighth studio album, which officially concluded the mythology saga that began with 2015's "Blurryface." The album featured singles "The Contract" and "Drum Show" and charted on the Billboard 200. An alternate version of the album included the viral track "Drag Path," which was released as a single in 2026.

Elektra marked its 70th anniversary in 2020, celebrating seven decades since Jac Holzman's founding of the original label. The brand's modern-day roster continues to reflect the eclectic, artist-driven ethos that has defined Elektra since its founding.