Zappa.com

I know I don't post here now much folks, though I felt compelled to mention this as it's been bothering me for a while. I'm an avid collector of CDs, as I'm sure a lot of you are also and although I don't need to add anymore Zappa CDs to my collection, I can't help but notice how their availability is rapidly diminishing in UK shops. Well, I'm assuming the trend is the same in other areas of the UK as all the shops get their CDs from the same distributors. However, in Scotland certainly, there are hardly any Zappa CDs available now.

In the shop where I normally buy my CDs, when his releases were with Ryko, there were routinely around 30 to 40 zappa albums available at any one time. Since the ZFT took control again, there's only been about 3-5 CDs available at any one time and they always include Thing Fish and The Man From Utopia, not exactly his best albums and probably the least likely representations of his true talent and musical genius.

When I check other shops like HMV that used to stock in the same region, 30 to 40 albums at anyone time, it's the same problem. They have about 3 CDs available and Thing Fish is there again!!!

I've asked the guy in the shop where I normally buy my CDs what's happening and he said that's all they have now and that there's no more Zappa CDs to be had via regular distribution channels. I find this really, really sad as lots of people are going to grow up and never hear his music....what is going on??

When you consider the worrying shortage of available Zappa CDs and then consider the fact that he's not represented in the digital market either. Then you have to arrive at the conclusion that his music is going to die out with this current generation and that is incredibly sad.

So why are all these great albums no longer available from record shops? I know it's not a case of the shops not wanting to stock them any longer, many less well-known bands and artists still have their full catalogues available. So it must be a case of the distributors not having the CDs because either there's no longer any available, or they can't source them.

I think this is unbelievably sad and criminal into the bargain. I can just about understand not wanting to release his music digitally, but that argument only stands up if there are CDs available and plenty of them. With no CDs, no vinyl and no digital, his legacy is being crudely destroyed.

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Hi,
The situation is exactly the same here in France.
In most music stores (Fnac, Virgin Megastore, etc.), the FZ shelves are quite empty, while I was used to see most Ryko references from 2000 to 2009.
Nowadays there are usually 0 to 3 albums max., more likely Japanese papersleeves and Zappa Records/Vaulternative/UMRK.

Hi,

Yeah I thought it would be the same in other countries, most European countries get their stock from the same distribution channels, so if one country is effected the chances are they all will be.

The ZFT are always going on about protecting the integrity of his art and I can think of no greater insult to his art than it being denied an existence beyond his death. It's really sad

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I've seen ugly print versions of FZ CDs (and bought one and sent to the UK) in the past few years. Nowadays there's next to no CD store out here anyway. We had 13 back in 2000, that's down to 4 or 5, and four of those primarily focus on DVD and Blu-ray.

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Hi guys, Its very true here in France. The only store still stocking a "fair" amount of zappa cd's is the FNAC. But it's dwindling fast. They're not restocking anything, probably because of Ryko not distrubuting anymore. All other venues i've seen have "The Best of" or at the very least "Hot rats"...Pretty sad. However, through the Fnac online store you can get pretty much everything and then some, just type zappa and you'll see lots of stuff.

Theres a rumour that the FNAC will close it's CD retail business alltogether, so you won't even be able to fondle the things with delight and glee anymore.

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"You can fly like a Penguin when you're dealing with Turkeys."

Same here in OZ. The major distributors no longer have large displays of Zappa Ryko stuff. I'm curious to know why.

I've noticed that G and S have the majority for sale on line in the EU.

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The way I see it Barry, this should be a very dynamite show.

It's a sad sad story to tell.

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You gotta give the people something good to read, on a Sunday

It's the same story here.

There's only a couple of major chain stores left (HMV, Future Shop and Best Buy) and they've all downsized their CD departments considerably. There's only a handful of FZ titles stocked at each of 'em. The availability issue has to do with a combination of lack of demand for FZ product (thanks to free downloading) AND the current dispute between Ryko and the ZFT. But lack of demand is the main reason, especially for many other artists. In the past five years alone, CD sales have fallen about 50%...

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It ain't all that bad the late 80s and early 90s had a heap of CD's all releases re-released and some more.2001 to 2009 Video Arts music,brought out 52 CD's FZ CD's.it's just a case of Hmv and Zavvi have blow all the litte record shop out of the water,same with food shops Asda and so on.Hmv or Zavvi don't stock much in store even Spillers record store the oldest in the world a litte record shop in cardiff stock more,the only problem is what they got in shop stock is what they got on line not much of FZ catalouge,while Hmv or Zavvi are cheap as fuck half price most of what i payed 20 odd years ago,and are way cheaper than G&S I don't even need them i will just pick up new release Zappa records and so on when i go to watch ZPZ.

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Arf you out of your fucking mind.

I really hope that GZ has a secret long term strategy, otherwise neither CDs nor digital downloads leave no room for any potential newcomers.
And if there is no legal offer, this could also mechanically increase illegal downloading, grey market and bootlegging.

Strategy they will not need it there is more freedownload sites shuting down than not.Just like Electicitiy the only way in the future be pay or not get any.You don't really think the Tax man and others will put up with free downloads for long

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Arf you out of your fucking mind.

Similar discussion on Carnegie Hall thread ('Zappa Albums').

Downloads are the realistic future, though I do love cd.s.

I can't believe that's the way records company see the futur.
They made all this money selling records, not music.
You can't put a price on music itself.
Once the album is produced, what is the cost of a digital download?

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It's not really how record companies see the future, record companies make huge profits from CDs and despite the fact there's no physical package with digital downloads, more money is still to be made from CDs....much more.

The reason for that is, even though digital downloads now officially strip CD sales, this is single sales of downloads. Albums sales of digital downloads are incredibly low, hardly anyone buys a full album today, so there's a lot more profit in that one CD sale than there is in a download sale. They just fail to elaborate on the fact that as far as downloads are concerned, the album as an art form, is more or less dead in the eyes of the buying public.

It's the distributors and the industry machine itself that's pushing the downloads, distributors make huge, huge savings on download albums, so do the download sites and that's the real reason why they're edging the physical formats closer and closer to oblivion.

The Zappa catalogue really should be available as digital download though, if they continue with their cottage industry model of selling CDs direct to fans by mail order and refusing to re-run his back catalogue of releases. His music will be dead within a generation.

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