hollywood billionaire

Chapter 500: Large Quantity, Great Price
Born in 1940, Frank Zappa is a world-renowned musical genius and an artistic pioneer who dared to break with tradition.

Throughout his life, he broke down the barriers between musical genres and reshaped them into a style entirely his own. In a career spanning over 30 years, Zappa created countless outstanding works in rock, pop, jazz, fusion jazz, orchestral, representational music, and those that organically combined all of these genres.

Released in 1966, *Freak Out!* is considered the first concept double album in rock, blending avant-garde orchestral music with social satire, inspiring an entire generation of rock musicians emerging from the hippie movement. Paul McCartney has publicly stated that the Beatles' eighth studio album, and their greatest, *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band*, is the band's tribute to *Freak Out!*.

1969's "Hot Rats" used a then-rare 16-track recording technique, setting a benchmark for jazz rock and making later jazz masters Bobby Sanabria, Bill Freesell, John Zorn, and funk legend George Clinton his loyal followers.

Since the 60s, Frank Zappa has been known for his absurd lyrics that deconstruct mainstream culture and his satirical songs like "Bobby Brown" that satirize American middle-class values. He has been hailed by the media and industry as the godfather of comedic rock. From Jimi Hendrix to Black Sabbath and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, almost every rock musician with a spirit of resistance and rebellion has cited Frank Zappa as their source of inspiration and mentor.

Admittedly, looking at the Western pop music industry as a whole, Frank Zappa's commercial achievements are far from outstanding. In his 31-year career, with 62 studio albums, his total global sales to date are only 321.5 million copies. His best-selling and most chart-topping album, his 18th, *Apostrophe*, only reached number ten on the Billboard 200. As for singles, he only had three—yes, 31 years, averaging two albums per year—that never reached the top 100 on the singles chart.

However, compared to Stevie Nicks, this is a dismal market performance, and it doesn't accurately reflect the public acceptance and commercial value of Frank Zappa's catalog. After all, Frank releases his work through his own music distribution company and independent labels, keeping all copyrights firmly in his own hands, with only a distribution agreement with Universal. For every album sold, Frank Zappa receives 80%, while Universal only gets 20%, a stark contrast to traditional record deals where major record labels typically receive at least 80%-85%, or even 90%.

With limited funds, Universal Music had no incentive to help Frank Zappa build a sales network, nor would it waste a single penny of its marketing budget on him. Most importantly, putting everything else aside, Universal—or rather, the entire record industry—needed to kill a chicken like Frank Zappa to warn other restless monkeys and demonstrate the serious consequences of deviating from the norm.

This kind of soft blockade was very effective in an era when information access was relatively scarce and media was basically monopolized by capital. However, in the second decade of the 21st century, online streaming and free streaming have completely replaced the traditional buy-use model. The industry barriers painstakingly built by large record companies such as Universal have completely collapsed. Frank Zappa's works released on independent labels no longer need to be transported by ships and trucks rented by mainstream record companies to record stores and chain supermarkets around the world.

With just a few clicks of the mouse and a negligible data fee compared to transoceanic shipping, music fans around the world can hear the legendary sound from half a century ago, a sound that still resonates powerfully today.

Han Yi's goal is to help mainstream superstars like Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks, who were already established in the traditional record era, solidify their status and commercial value in the streaming age.

The next-generation dissemination model created by Wave Music Foundation and Han Music Group aims to ensure that independent masters like Frank Zappa, who have long been suppressed and ignored and whose commercial achievements are seriously disproportionate to their artistic accomplishments, are no longer hidden from the light of day, and that their works receive the recognition and benefits they deserve. This is also Han Yi's persistent goal.

For him, who possesses virtually unlimited money, the two are not in conflict.

"Frank's work is indeed unique and extraordinary."

After listening quietly to Han Yi's account, Stevie shifted her posture, let out a soft sigh, and asked, "But are you really so confident that you can bring them into the spotlight? So many years have passed."

“It may sound a bit arrogant, but I believe that the curator and the work being curated are equally important.”

"Hmm." Stevie responded, nodding slightly more deeply than before, her eyes concealing a complex mix of intense emotions.

“We developed an excellent playlist promotion strategy that allowed us to quickly launch any track, growing from zero traffic to one million plays in about a day or two. This strategy worked exceptionally well for Madison.” “The reason ‘Cold Water’ reached number one on the charts was thanks to the playlist,” Madison added. “Our radio play count wasn’t high at the beginning; the first half was primarily supported by online streaming. But when it became the number one streamed song in the US and even globally, the radio station realized the consumer demand and put it on its frequently played playlist.”

"Is your current single the same?" Steven asked casually, massaging her temples with her right hand. "What's it called again?"

“Bad Things,” Madison replied. “This one is different. It had good radio resources from the beginning because it was released by Interscope, and I was just a guest performer.”

“Interscope, that explains it. They are indeed stubborn, in their own unique way…”

Stevens's cryptic complaints abruptly ended there, before abruptly changing direction.

“Good, good. Interscope is good, and you guys are good too… As long as you can find a way to get Zappa noticed in cyberspace, I believe the fund will definitely benefit a lot from it… For God’s sake, that’s four thousand songs.”

“Four thousand is just the number of songs that have already been released,” Han Yi replied with a smile. “Irving told us that Frank Zappa’s estate also holds at least twenty unreleased singles that could fill a full-length studio album, in addition to thousands of hours of composition clips and video footage… You rarely see such a rich and complete copyright library. Frankly speaking, even if most of these singles don’t generate substantial revenue, just the sheer quantity is enough to garner attention and respect from the industry and capital markets for Wave Music Fund.”

“I understand what you mean. Every music group operates this way.” Having been in the industry for decades, Stevie naturally knew the ropes. “Whether it’s Universal, Sony, or Warner, whether it’s the record division or the music distribution division, they are all willing to sign new artists like crazy and accumulate copyrights like crazy. It’s not just because only with a large enough base can more hit singles that only account for one percent or even one-thousandth of the total copyright library be generated, but also because Wall Street and those stock investors just love to see the numbers keep growing.”

“Only by expanding the copyright library by 15% every year can the valuation possibly go up,” Lionel Richie added with a laugh. “If Frank Zappa were willing to sign a record deal with a major label, he would definitely be the most valuable doll in the eyes of every music company executive… Release four albums a year, can you imagine? He alone could achieve a label’s annual copyright library growth target.”

“Yeah, it’s insane. I don’t know how he does it. Releasing four singles in a year would drive me crazy, let alone four full-length albums.” At this point, Stevie cleared her throat, brushed a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, and asked one of the questions she was most concerned about, “So, it seems that your relationship with Zappa is progressing much faster than with Dave, is that right?”

“Yes,” Han Yi nodded in response. “The transaction should be completed soon.”

"How much?" Stevie cut to the chase. "If you don't mind me asking this... what kind of offer did you give Irving, and what kind of offer did he ultimately accept?"

"There wasn't much back and forth between us on the price negotiation. The Irving and Zappa family members were satisfied with our offer, and they... I wouldn't say they accepted our first offer, but they were close to it."

What is the quote you provided?

"Twenty million US dollars, exactly."

(End of this chapter)