Editing Elektra Records (section)

===1989–2004: Elektra Entertainment Group===
In 1989, the label officially changed its name to Elektra Entertainment. 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 (1990s American band)|Luna]], [[The Call (band)|The Call]], [[X (American band)|X]], [[The Afghan Whigs]], [[Anita Baker]], [[Linda Ronstadt]], [[Natalie Cole]], [[Brand Nubian]], [[KMD]], [[Pete Rock & CL Smooth]], and [[Ween]].<ref name="avclub">{{cite web |last1=Keil |first1=Jason |title=How Elektra Records ushered in the alternative music revolution |url=https://www.avclub.com/how-elektra-records-ushered-in-the-alternative-music-re-1845556673 |website=The A.V. Club |date=November 18, 2020 |access-date=19 May 2022 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Broerman |first1=Michael |title=Ween Makes Major Label Debut With 'Pure Guava' 31 Years Ago Today |url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/ween-major-label-debut-pure-guava-anniversary/ |website=L4LM |access-date=15 June 2024 |date=10 November 2023}}</ref> The label's A&R department included former music journalist [[Terry Tolkin]], who was credited with coining the term "[[alternative rock|alternative music]]" in the late 1970s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aswad |first1=Jem |title=Terry Tolkin, Veteran A&R Exec for Elektra Records and Others, Dies at 62 |url=https://variety.com/2022/music/news/terry-tolkin-elektra-records-dead-dies-afghan-whigs-1235160381/ |website=Variety |access-date=19 May 2022 |date=22 January 2022}}</ref> Also during this time, Elektra developed a relationship with the [[United Kingdom|UK]] label [[4AD]]. Elektra became the label for 4AD acts such as the [[Pixies (band)|Pixies]],<ref name="Larkin50"/> [[the Breeders]], [[Black Francis|Frank Black]], and [[The Amps]] in the United States.

Like its sister labels, Elektra's fortunes began to wane in the mid-1990s, in part because of a series of bitter corporate battles between senior Warner label executives, which seriously damaged the collective reputation of the group. 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. Krasnow was replaced by [[Sylvia Rhone]], who at the time was a senior vice president at [[Atlantic Records]], and also the CEO of Atlantic's [[East West Records|EastWest Records America]] imprint. Upon Rhone's arrival at Elektra, the label took over the operations of EastWest, as well as [[Sire Records]] (which had previously operated through its sister label [[Warner Bros. Records]]) and was renamed Elektra Entertainment Group.

In September 1994, another damaging controversy erupted when [[Heavy metal music|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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/28/arts/heavy-metal-band-sues-record-label.html?pagewanted=1%3Fpagewanted%3D1 |title="Heavy Metal Band Sues Record Label", ''New York Times'', 28 September 1994 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 28, 1994 |access-date=September 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215233329/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/28/arts/heavy-metal-band-sues-record-label.html?pagewanted=1%3Fpagewanted%3D1 |archive-date=December 15, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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. Elektra responded by countersuing the group, but in December, ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine reported rumors that then Warner Music US chairman [[Doug Morris]] had offered the group a lucrative new deal in exchange for dropping the suit,<ref>Pat Wechsler & Roger D. Friedman, "Heavy Metal Gets the Heavy Bucks", Intelligencer section, ''New York'' magazine, December 19–26, 1994, p.26</ref> which was reported to be even more generous than the earlier Krasnow deal. 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."<ref>[https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/1995-01-06/entertainment/17791896_1_metallica-elektra-entertainment-group-band SFGAte.com, 6 January 1995] </ref>

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. It also developed a bit of a sullen reputation in the industry for not properly promoting many of its releases, thus earning the nickname "Neglektra" from several signed artists, such as [[Marvelous 3]], [[Jason Falkner]], and [[Greg Dulli]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sachs|first1=Tony|title=Author (Still) Unknown: The Brilliant Music and Star-Crossed Career of Jason Falkner|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-sachs/author-still-unknown-the_b_604062.html|website=Huffington Post|access-date=21 November 2017|date=8 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914003208/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-sachs/author-still-unknown-the_b_604062.html|archive-date=September 14, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Greg Dulli Sells His Soul at Summer's Kiss - Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers|url=http://www.summerskiss.com/awpress/greg_dulli_sells_his_soul.php|website=Summerskiss.com|access-date=21 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925084306/http://www.summerskiss.com/awpress/greg_dulli_sells_his_soul.php|archive-date=September 25, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> and was easily lagging behind its sister labels Warner Bros. Records and Atlantic Records.