Miriam Bienstock | Atlantic Records cofounder, 92

Miriam Bienstock, 92, who helped found Atlantic Records and ran the business side of the fledgling label as it became an industry leader during the rise of rock 'n' roll, died on Saturday at her home in Manhattan, her son, Robert Bienstock, said.

Mrs. Bienstock became one of a handful of pioneering female music industry executives when she and her then-husband, Herb Abramson, joined with Ahmet Ertegun in 1947 to start Atlantic Records. She managed production and finances for the New York-based company as it mined an untapped market for black performers including Ruth Brown and Ray Charles.

By 1959, when its artists included the Coasters, the Drifters, and Bobby Darin, sales climbed to $1 million a month, John Broven wrote in his 2009 book, Record Makers and Breakers.

After leaving Atlantic in 1964, Mrs. Bienstock shifted her focus to theater. In 1978 she produced Elvis, a musical biography of Elvis Presley staged in London. - Bloomberg