Selling Music Rights

[Sgt. Pepper]

Frank's non musical kids, Moon and Ahmet (The Zappa Family Trust) sold Frank's Recordings, Song Catalog, and Film Archive, to  the Universal Music Group. I think Stephen Stills sold his music last week to one of the one's Bob Dylan, Neil, or Bruce sold theirs too as well.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/frank-zappas-recordings-song-catalog-and-film-archive-acquired-by-universal-music-group

Edited June 30, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

['Scales]

Sweet - I can see it now - Why Does it Hurt when I Pee being used as the background music for advertisements for prostate checkups.  

I'd like to think Frank would smile. 

[Murph]

Kids are like that.

"It's MY money and I want it NOW."

[gearbasher]

32 minutes ago, Murph said:

Kids are like that.

"It's MY money and I want it NOW."

I think you've seen one too many J.G. Wentworth commercials.

[rct]

It's probably costing them more to maintain, manage, and defend that stuff than they are making.  Besides, they've got kids too, it's never too early for some estate planning.  That guy made a few generations wealthy.

rct

[kidblast]

1 hour ago, gearbasher said:

I think you've seen one too many J.G. Wentworth commercials.

877 cash now! 

[Sgt. Pepper]

24 minutes ago, ghost_of_fl said:

With today's "cancel culture" they're right to sell it while they can. 

"Universal Music Publishing Group, the publishing division of Universal Music Group NV, didn't disclose a price for the deal."

Sgt I'm curious why Moon and Ahmet would have a stake in the catalog but not Dweezil?   Surely all 3 agreed to sell right?  

The other 3 are I think in some sort of dispute with Dweez, and Gail, Frank's wife died several years back. The other 3 were mad at Dweez when he was doing his Zappa Plays Zappa Tours, and they made him stop using Zappa Plays Zappa for the name of his tour. His last one was called Dweezil Plays Whatever The Hell He Wants Tour. I saw the one just before that when he played all of Hot Rats in order. I think Dweez doesn't has as much of a percentage of the ZFT as the others , or they just out vote him.

Edited July 1, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Whitefang]

At first blush some would think this a tragedy.  Not only Frank's "legacy" being "sold out",  but Dylan's Neil's and Bruce's too.   I don't think they or anybody sold anyone their entire record collections.  But maybe the masters.  And everything the artist wanted to record has been(except Frank)  and the rest are still creating and recording, so there's more to fall back on.  Plus all the recordings already pressed onto vinyl and stored on digital media.  And I think at the beginning was the artist's desire to find some kind of immortality through all that, which they surely have found.    I mean, you can still go somewhere(online, and the still remaining recorded music outlets) and buy John Lennon, George Harrison, David Bowie,  Frank Zappa,  Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin( among so many others) recordings.  So it isn't like all of that music is "lost" to the world.  So their estates will still get some money coming in.  Just not as much as they could have. 

Whitefang

[Sgt. Pepper]

11 hours ago, 'Scales said:

Sweet - I can see it now - Why Does it Hurt when I Pee being used as the background music for advertisements for prostate checkups.  

I'd like to think Frank would smile. 

I think he would have preferred it was used for commercials for male adult diapers, and catheters. 

[Sgt. Pepper]

13 minutes ago, Whitefang said:

At first blush some would think this a tragedy.  Not only Frank's "legacy" being "sold out",  but Dylan's Neil's and Bruce's too.   I don't think they or anybody sold anyone their entire record collections.  But maybe the masters.  And everything the artist wanted to record has been(except Frank)  and the rest are still creating and recording, so there's more to fall back on.  Plus all the recordings already pressed onto vinyl and stored on digital media.  And I think at the beginning was the artist's desire to find some kind of immortality through all that, which they surely have found.    I mean, you can still go somewhere(online, and the still remaining recorded music outlets) and buy John Lennon, George Harrison, David Bowie,  Frank Zappa,  Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin( among so many others) recordings.  So it isn't like all of that music is "lost" to the world.  So their estates will still get some money coming in.  Just not as much as they could have. 

Whitefang

Right, I know that means their music is not gone, but unlike Bob or Neil or Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuce, Frank didn't get a cut of the sale. His punk a-ss kids (Moon, Vomit and Diva) benefited. 

Frank's music barely sold when he was at the height of his popularity, if he ever had a height. Are they gonna use Dinah-Moe Hum to sell condoms, and  lube, or use Broken Hearts Are For A-ssholes for Valentines Day Cards?

Edited July 1, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Whitefang]

Sure Frank had a "height".   I'd say from the late '60's to the early '80's  when his original fans started aging out and their kids never took to his style. (too much *urp!* Mtv  🤢).  And labels like Verve and Mercury  don't sign anyone that isn't "worth" their while.   Let alone find people to finance new labels to give outlets for off-beat artists that Frank felt needed exposure.  You don't build up that much clout in that industry by being an obscure novelty.

And of course Frank didn't get a cut.  How could he?  Dig up his unmarked grave(if they could find it) and slip a check into his coffin?  🙄

"Dyna-Moe Humm" to sell condoms?  My guess would be to sell Aspercreme for sore wrists.    And who knows?  Some day we might see TV ads for St. Alfonzo's  pancake mix and syrup.

Or ready made yellow sno-cones.  😜

Whitefang

[Murph]

20 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Frank's music barely sold when he was at the height of his popularity, 

Bingo.

And he actually got paid royalties back in those day, so with the sales, royalties, and touring, I'm sure Frank did very well in those days, compared to the masses.

However.

Streaming and digital sales don't pay squat, and his catalog isn't making them enough to pay the accountants. 

Universal wants it so they can use anything they want for eternity in Movies and never pay those higher royalties.

[sparquelito]

I went to Casablanca Records just last week and sold my back catalog. 

They gave me five bucks, and they validated my parking. 

So I got that going for me. 

😑

[sparquelito]

It’s very tough to make any money as a songwriter.

I learned this in the early 1960’s when I marketed a couple of my songs to a variety of American artists, and got turned down cold.
 

I did manage to sell at least two of them to a young, relatively unknown British band known as Herman’s Hermits. But then they changed the lyrics all around, and so THEY made a boatload of cash, while I was left with pennies and scraps.

It was very upsetting.
 

See if you don’t like my original lyrics better.
 

𝐈’𝐌 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐀 𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈

𝐈’𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐦

𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐚𝐦

𝐈’𝐦 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫

𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐣𝐚𝐦

𝐈’𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐈’𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚

𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐦

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭….
 

You don’t even WANT to know how badly they hosed up my other hit song, ‘𝑴𝒓𝒔. 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒕 𝑨 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒓’.
 

Ticks me off to this very day.
😔

[SteveFord]

I hope they continue with the vinyl remasters, they've still got a ways to go to finish the set.

[Sgt. Pepper]

On 7/5/2022 at 6:02 AM, SteveFord said:

I hope they continue with the vinyl remasters, they've still got a ways to go to finish the set.

Yep, there is about 6, or so of the 70's catalog left to do, and I don't think anything from the 80's has been done. If they do I hope they expand Just Another Band and Tinseltown. 

[Whitefang]

On 7/2/2022 at 1:23 PM, sparquelito said:

It’s very tough to make any money as a songwriter.

I learned this in the early 1960’s when I marketed a couple of my songs to a variety of American artists, and got turned down cold.
 

I did manage to sell at least two of them to a young, relatively unknown British band known as Herman’s Hermits. But then they changed the lyrics all around, and so THEY made a boatload of cash, while I was left with pennies and scraps.

It was very upsetting.
 

See if you don’t like my original lyrics better.
 

𝐈’𝐌 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐌𝐀 𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈

𝐈’𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐦

𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐚𝐦

𝐈’𝐦 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫

𝐒𝐡𝐞’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚

𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐣𝐚𝐦

𝐈’𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐈’𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚

𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐡 𝐈 𝐚𝐦

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭….
 

You don’t even WANT to know how badly they hosed up my other hit song, ‘𝑴𝒓𝒔. 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒕 𝑨 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒓’.
 

Ticks me off to this very day.
😔

I decided to go the "Weird Al" route and  "update" some "classics"  Like this one(sung to the tune of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now(Baby Blue).

It’s All Over Now

You hope Centrum Silver’s giving you a lift;

You wake up in the morning, and it’s your back that’s stiff;

Those faded bells kept in your bottom drawer;

Don’t seem to fit as loose as once before;

Those plastic rimmed bifocals seal your doom

That it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

Your empty headed Father’s sounding like a sage;

At times it seems the two of you are the same age;

The long and flowing hair that was your mane;

Keeps slipping off your scalp to clog the drain;

That cubicle you work in is your tomb;

And it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

The stereo that used to make you so damned proud;

Now sits collecting dust because it’s too damned loud!

The music that the elevator plays;

Are all the tunes from your old rebel days;

Your flower child bride has long since lost her bloom;

And it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

You used to get a rush from living day to day;

But now you slowly study your 401K;

You used to seek Nirvana from within;

Now, you seek ways to hide your double chin;

You’re being swept aside by a younger broom;

‘Cause it’s all over now, baby boom!

I did this back during Dylan's 30 year in the biz anniversary  in '92

 

 

 

 

[sparquelito]

On 7/6/2022 at 10:27 AM, Whitefang said:

I decided to go the "Weird Al" route and  "update" some "classics"  Like this one(sung to the tune of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now(Baby Blue).

It’s All Over Now

You hope Centrum Silver’s giving you a lift;

You wake up in the morning, and it’s your back that’s stiff;

Those faded bells kept in your bottom drawer;

Don’t seem to fit as loose as once before;

Those plastic rimmed bifocals seal your doom

That it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

Your empty headed Father’s sounding like a sage;

At times it seems the two of you are the same age;

The long and flowing hair that was your mane;

Keeps slipping off your scalp to clog the drain;

That cubicle you work in is your tomb;

And it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

The stereo that used to make you so damned proud;

Now sits collecting dust because it’s too damned loud!

The music that the elevator plays;

Are all the tunes from your old rebel days;

Your flower child bride has long since lost her bloom;

And it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

You used to get a rush from living day to day;

But now you slowly study your 401K;

You used to seek Nirvana from within;

Now, you seek ways to hide your double chin;

You’re being swept aside by a younger broom;

‘Cause it’s all over now, baby boom!

I did this back during Dylan's 30 year in the biz anniversary  in '92

 

 

 

 

A gorgeous job, good sir!

🙂

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

On 7/6/2022 at 11:27 AM, Whitefang said:

I decided to go the "Weird Al" route and  "update" some "classics"  Like this one(sung to the tune of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now(Baby Blue).

It’s All Over Now

You hope Centrum Silver’s giving you a lift;

You wake up in the morning, and it’s your back that’s stiff;

Those faded bells kept in your bottom drawer;

Don’t seem to fit as loose as once before;

Those plastic rimmed bifocals seal your doom

That it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

Your empty headed Father’s sounding like a sage;

At times it seems the two of you are the same age;

The long and flowing hair that was your mane;

Keeps slipping off your scalp to clog the drain;

That cubicle you work in is your tomb;

And it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

The stereo that used to make you so damned proud;

Now sits collecting dust because it’s too damned loud!

The music that the elevator plays;

Are all the tunes from your old rebel days;

Your flower child bride has long since lost her bloom;

And it’s all over now, baby boom!

 

You used to get a rush from living day to day;

But now you slowly study your 401K;

You used to seek Nirvana from within;

Now, you seek ways to hide your double chin;

You’re being swept aside by a younger broom;

‘Cause it’s all over now, baby boom!

I did this back during Dylan's 30 year in the biz anniversary  in '92

 

 

 

 

Did "Weird Al" sing that like he had a handful of marbles in his mouth?

[Whitefang]

12 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Did "Weird Al" sing that like he had a handful of marbles in his mouth?

Well, you know Al------

If he had to he could.  

Whitefang

[MissouriPicker]

l sold my song catalog to Sony and I only had to pay them $75.