Hey Mr. Edison!
Good to read you around and about...
If I recall correctly, the ZFT's reliance on Ryko ended last year or
before. The catalogue was always theirs - they paid 6 mill for it; but they had
a clause on the release of new material (a "non-competition" thing) that expired
last year, which kind of "frees up" Gail to release stuff - like the "joe's"
series. If anything, the ZFT is happy with this deal, as it gives their
catalogue distribution a shot in the arm. It will not affect the "product" that
they're releasing at this time, or anything else they might choose to
release.
And I doubt that we'll be hearing any FZ on a Chevy commercial (like they'd
want to?) thanks to the publishing rights still retained by Gail. Not that she
couldn't be bought, but there's still an element of control.
Ryko has been biting it for several years now; they're next to insolvent.
This deal will actually breathe life into their catalogue, which is a good
thing.
Ironic, yes... But FZ 'turning in his grave'? I think not...
PS Hey! When is this year's Zappathon? Inquiring minds want to
know...
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 11:33
PM
Subject: Re: [Zappa-List] Ryko Sale
Hmm, that last link didn't go through the
way it should have. Here's the text from another source (which has more
details than the first, anyway).
LOS ANGELES -
Warner Music Group said Friday
it reached a $67.5 million deal to acquire independent recording company Ryko
Corp., which distributes music by artists such as The Posies, Big Star and
Frank Zappa.
New York-based Warner Music is paying cash for Ryko,
which was owned by a group of investors led by JPMorgan
Partners.
The move will beef up Warner's music vault with some
1,000 recordings from Ryko's catalog of jazz, folk, rock, blues and other
genres.
The value of catalog recordings has risen in recent
years as record companies have found new sources of revenue from licensing
music for use by wireless carriers, online music services and in television
and film.
Ryko's collection of recordings includes works by
independent music stalwarts such as They Might Be Giants, The Dead Milkmen,
The Flaming Lips and The Replacements.
The recordings will be marketed under Warner's Rhino
Entertainment label.
Ryko's flagship label, Rykodisc, will continue to run
independently under the Warner umbrella, the company said.
Ryko Distribution, which handles releases for Rykodisc
and several small independent music labels, will continue to operate
separately of Warner's own independent label distribution operation,
Alternative Distribution Alliance.
Warner sees Ryko and Alternative Distribution Alliance
as complimentary operations, because Ryko has been successful at distributing
output from labels selling far fewer units than the independent labels handled
by Alternative Distribution Alliance.
Warner is not planning any layoffs as a result of the
acquisition, which is expected to close in early June.
Ryko CEO Sam Holdsworth, who was brought in by
JPMorgan, will be stepping down, but Jim Cuomo, president of Ryko
Distribution, and William Hein, president of the Rykodisc label, will stay
on.
Warner said it does not expect the Ryko acquisition to
be material to its 2006 earnings.
Shares of Warner Music fell 30 cents, or 1.38 percent,
to close at $21.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.
On Mar 24, 2006, at 11:29 PM, Bill Amutis wrote:
Just saw this. And
considering what Frank went through to get
his master recordings back and find a secure distributor that he
could trust, he must be spinning in his grave. (And the Zappa Family
Trust can't be too happy, either.)
id=53516&rubrik1=Economy&rubrik2=Company%20News&rubrik3=Mergers%20%2F%
20Takeovers&sort=1&start=1
Not Dead Yet,
Bill Amutis
(Ol' Baggy Eyes)
All metaphysics, like all politics, is local. If it can't be
experienced and applied in this room right now, it's a load. -Dean
Sluyter
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