Z Audio closes its doors to vinyl distribution

[lukki]

"Dear label,
It is to my regret that Z Audio Ltd will no longer be distributing vinyl records as of Today.
Sales on vinyl have continued to decrease for us dramatically in 2010 and we have been forced to shut this side of the business down.
As some of you might or might not know, we currently run Audio Phreaks, Z Audio, On the Edge, Smokin Sessions, Dark Circles and a few other labels in house.
These labels will be distributed by our friends at ST Holdings in the very near future.
Z Audio will continue to push quality music and will be re-structuring the company with sole concentration on our labels and artists.

We thank all of you for your support over the years and wish you the best of luck for the future."

[joeki]

A shame , that's they way the market is shaping up these days.
But the good news is that the releases will still be getting out there. That would be a propper waste, I need my yearly dose of Smoking Sessions!

[lukki]

A shame , that's they way the market is shaping up these days.
But the good news is that the releases will still be getting out there. That would be a propper waste, I need my yearly dose of Smoking Sessions!

Only the Labels that Z-Audio OWNS will still be pressed and distributed, so the 5 or 6 out of the 50 or 60 Labels they distribute for.

ie Shift, Terminal Dusk, Trillbass, etc.

[displaced]

Yeah, really is a shame for all those other labels (and Z Audio).
Hope they can find new homes and continue to put music out on wax!

[scattybeanhead]

balls... this is probably a really stupid question but would this mean it'll be more difficult to get hold of some of their releases? i was planning on getting a couple but should i get them sooner...? just could not think of a way of asking this without sounding like an idiot!

[lukki]

balls... this is probably a really stupid question but would this mean it'll be more difficult to get hold of some of their releases? i was planning on getting a couple but should i get them sooner...? just could not think of a way of asking this without sounding like an idiot!

From Z-Audio owned labels? (Audio phreaks, smokin sessions, etc)

Those will be available for sure, ST Holdings will be taking over distro for those few labels.



For all other labels- I have no idea. I'm not even sure what happens to the records in stores of OURS from here on out

[fretn]

I thought vinyl sales were increasing

[redeyz]

thread title is a little misleading, yeh.

i think moving stuff to ST Holdings is a great move on their part. they should be able to keep what's currently being distributed on vinyl alive with ease. at least the stuff they own.

sad to hear that it has to be this way, though. i feel bad for all the labels under them who are going to be effected. Z-Audio's been a favourite of mine for quite some time, but it's nice to know the digital stuff will still be around and easily had.

good luck in the future!

[redeyz]

Yeah, really is a shame for all those other labels (and Z Audio).
Hope they can find new homes and continue to put music out on wax!

they would be smart to start speaking to Nu-Urban or ST Holdings themselves, really.

[mashmash]

I thought vinyl sales were increasing

yeah, in general, last year vinyl sales were highest in years, but doesn't really have much relevance in dubstep

lots of it would be down to 'indie' bands since some have started releasing 7 " s

the attitude on this forum seems to be that vinyl will be gone in the near future. i really hope this is not the case, but a lot of djs have stopped using vinyl. and not many cut dubs anymore

[joeki]

Sorry didn't mean to be disrepectful to some of the smaller labels counting on Z-audio distribution,

just that I own very little release outside of smoking sesssions and z-audio itself. Didn't know they distributed for so many smaller labels.

[bassmusic]

balls... this is probably a really stupid question but would this mean it'll be more difficult to get hold of some of their releases? i was planning on getting a couple but should i get them sooner...? just could not think of a way of asking this without sounding like an idiot!

From Z-Audio owned labels? (Audio phreaks, smokin sessions, etc)

Those will be available for sure, ST Holdings will be taking over distro for those few labels.



For all other labels- I have no idea. I'm not even sure what happens to the records in stores of OURS from here on out

you'll probably be alright. Z isn't shutting completely - if they had just gone bust like Amato last year or intergroove the year before then yeah, you'd have to write off that money.

however, Z audio are still going to be doing digital, so I'd imagine they'll still be able to collect monies from any outstanding vinyl releases and pass them on to labels where appropriate

[dusk governor]

what a kick in the nuts !!

[1017_duck]

wait, is On The Edge on Z Audio also?
real question: will I still be able to buy On The Edge and Smokin Sessions on 12"?

sorry this is a bit confusing to me as I have no idea how this side of the business works

[boogiemeister]

that's a really bad look! To me it felt like they distributed half of the dubstep records being released! I mean we're also talking about labels like: Southside Dubstars, Terminal Dusk, On The Edge, Dubstar, Dubting, all the Deekline related stuff (Crispy Biscuit, Hot Cakes etc.), Sludge, the majority of the US dubstep labels and countless others. Many, many small labels but a lot of them are really good, stuff from all across the board. I don't know how many labels they actually ran themselves but as you already wrote, it's maybe 10% of the labels they were involved in. I fear this will mean the death of many small labels since the amount of labels Z Audio were dealing with was huge. I can imagine some of them will struggle finding a new home since there are so many labels now left in the dark. I really hope all those labels affected will find a good new home.

[lukki]

thread title is a little misleading, yeh.

Good point.

I edited the title.

From a record label owners perspective they have closed their doors.

From the average forum reader's/dubstep vinyl perspective they haven't- you can still buy their handful of in-house owned labels' music via ST Holdings.

[dusk governor]

that's a really bad look! To me it felt like they distributed half of the dubstep records being released! I mean we're also talking about labels like: Southside Dubstars, Terminal Dusk, On The Edge, Dubstar, all the Deekline related stuff (Crispy Biscuit, Hot Cakes etc.), Sludge, the majority of the US dubstep labels and countless others. Stuff from all across the board. I don't know how many labels they actually ran themselves but as you already wrote, it's maybe 10% of the labels they were involved in. I really hope all those labels affected will find a good new home.

hey thanks for the mention...
i've already contacted 3 p&d's
& if that dont work, we may go cd/digital independently DIY ..
it's all up in the air..
sincerest apologies to all the producers we had/have plans with...

[dopelabs]

im not sure how i feel about this..

when i approached zaudio for p&d consideration they basically laughed in my face and told me that the tunes i wanted to release were crap/garbage...

they have also never had a real website.... just a myspace page (c'mon really?)

karma...




i feel bad for the labels that had deals with zaudio... lots of good stuff goin on there....hope you guys can find a home soon

[1017_duck]

can either of you two answer my question if you can? or was it a stupid question?

[dusk governor]

can either of you two answer my question if you can? or was it a stupid question?

yes & yes