In my comedy collection, another reason I look for promos has to do with radio edits. A lot of comedy was released with words that cannot be aired on the radio. Comedy records were sometimes edited to be radio safe and released as promos. It's fun to find both the promo and the regular release of a comedy record to hear what was edited out for radio.
Promo records were not only sent to radio stations. Some were sent to record reviewers, jukeboxes, and club DJs. The jukebox promos tended to be a bit different in that they had separate A sides and B sides. As for radio, many 45s sent to radio stations had a mono side and a stereo side of the same song. This matched up with station configurations. Think typical AM stations vs the FM stereo transmitters. Additionally, the promo records were identified as being required to return the recordings back to the record companies upon demand. As for me, I have heard career radio pros discuss this. They had never heard of a record company demanding the return of their recordings.
Cut-outs were basically a write-off of intellectual property. The physical disk represented only a fraction of the cost of the record, but the IRS required the labels to carry the physical disk at fully loaded value, which was unfavorable to label if the records didn't sell quickly. So the labels would dump the disks, and in doing so vaporize the intellectual property they represented. When a cut-out was sold, neither the artist nor the songwriter received any royalties from the sale, so the buyer was just paying for the physical disk. The label recovered their manufacturing cost, and got rid of inventory that was expensive to carry.
I love promos I have a bunch of country ones.For example I have most all of Marty Robbins and George Jones albums that are white label promos.I also have the Madonna like a virgin wedding dress white vinyl.Thanks for doing this video.
🙂I recently found a John Conley promo 45 at a flea market, 🤷🏼♀️but wondered where people got promos if they weren't sold in stores. 🤷🏼♀️Could you please help me understand how people got promos?
There were also the Quiex II promos in the late 70s and early 80s, mostly from Warner Brothers associated labels. Besides the high-quality vinyl, the label would cut special lacquers with more bass and dynamic range than the stock copies, and use them for a limited run. These records were discovered by audiophiles early on, and were very collectible.
Back in the 70’s white label promos were common here in Southern California, I still have a few like, Alice Cooper’s “Schools Out” complete with panties and report card/song list. Others Neil Young “Time Fades Away”, Jimi Hendrix “War Heroes”, Elvis Costello “My Aim is True” a few more…I miss the good old days great records for cheap. Another great video…Thanks ☮️✌️☮️
I have a few Promo records. I generally collect older used progressive and hard rock albums. I like the promos I’ve purchased because they seem to be in better shape than most of the other used records in my collection. Less wear and tear on the record itself and also on the cover while graded the same as the “non promo” albums I have. Now when I’m searching bins, if I see one, I’ll grab the promo first as long as it’s priced near the regular release price.
Being an avid 60s Soul collector, i own many "promotional", "demonstration (demo)", "d.j. copy", "radio station copy" 45s. A lot of these even have release notes with them. Happy collecting evreyone.
Some songs from the 90's and 2000's had promo releases on Vinyl too. I just recently picked up some promo copies of the songs "Honestly" and "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" by an artist called Lumidee.
I have numerous Promo Records for sale on my Discogs site. There is a Cactus Record with a generic cover, that has some of the most vintage stuff written on it from 1970. If someone is interested in any of these records, let me know? Thanks
Promo's are primarily a re-invention of record retailers, particularly post-2000's... traditionally promos were frowned upon by record collectors as they were typically treated poorly by DJ's and record store employees, the stamp/sticker would obscure the album art and in the 80's and mid-90's they were... everywhere. If you were trying to save a few dollars or weren't sure of the band, you'd buy the promo. Sometime in the early 2000's, after the vinyl resurgence, record stores manipulated the scarcity to create a demand that hadn't existed previously. No particular judgement here, but I find the transition interesting.
Your point about the DJ's mistreating the records is well taken. If you manage to find one in near mint condition then that would cancel out that problem though. And one could make the argument that some DJ's might treat their records well so they will sound good on the radio. The big white timing strips that obscure the album artwork are unfortunate.
Yes, there's a lot demand that transitions from one type to another. Cd vs vinyl, promo vs stock, digital vs analog, download vs streaming. It may show that there is a generational shift.
When I started buying vinyl again six years ago I was surprised that promo records were desirable. What an about face. I started buying CDs but never got rid of my records.
depends on the radio station or the DJ - if they took care of the record, I got a copy of Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town which had never even been played before because the hole in the label wasn't completely punched through so it's a "better than first pressing" in terms of initial quality and still in brand new condition - probably because it was Bruce's first album in 3 years and didn't do well on the charts at the height of disco 'Prove It All Night' was the only top 40 song peaking at #33 and believe it or not 'Badlands' which is a concert staple of his and probably in his top 5 all time songs only got to #42 and his next hit "Hungry Heart" wasn't for another 2 years. By the time "Born in the USA" came out and made him a superstar in 1984 MTV was king and a lot of the radio stations had already switched from DJs spinning vinyl to machines playing reel to reel or CD.
I started as a DJ in radio in the late 1970's. Through half a dozen stations and perhaps hundreds of people working on-air I don't know anyone who mistreated our vinyl poorly. Also, near mint copies of radio station promo's are more common than you may think. I have a copy of Pink Floyd Animals that was never played because it did not fit the stations format. It was cataloged into the station inventory and put away where it sat for nearly 40 years until I picked it up last year.
The only promo i own is Blue oyster cult's spectres. not worth much but when i started collecting. i always felt special that i owned a copy that was not meant to be sold and that was owned by a radio station ( not sure what station) anyways thanks for suggesting velvet underground's first album in one of your videos. its now in my top ten albums. P.s could you do a video on the deal with vertigo pressings.
vertigo pressings are typically desired because they had the original masters for a lot of bands like sabbath for example. They have all sounded great that I've owned (at least UK pressings) especially in the case of sabbath.
Those are some beautiful promos, Dillon. I’m a total sucker for promotional copies as well. I have heard some differing opinions regarding promo copies, including one by someone who owns a pressing plant. He said that the best sounding pressings can often time come from during the middle of the day when the presses are all warmed up and working optimally. Even after hearing that, I still love promos, and I own a few promo records as well as the standard pressing counterparts. The difference is subtle, but the promo copies seem to have a bit more detail to them. Great vid. Thanks, Dillon!
Love finding promos in the wild. My favorites that I have are DEVO's first album, The Chocolate Watchband "The Inner Mystique" mono, and The United States of America mono with the timing strip.
Dude you have some serious good taste with those last two albums you mentioned. The USA mono promo I have too. One of my favorite psych albums. I also have a stock stereo copy with the top secret envelope that is still sealed and is a first sixties press. I also have a sixties Japanese yellow label promo which is as rare as an honest politician. Check out the Sundazed CD of it for lots of killer bonus tracks.
@@booklover3959 Hey don't be dissing DEVO though. Lol. The second two I got in a lot of about 600 records at a garage sale. They just wanted them gone. They took 50 bucks for all of it. I could sell that United states record for decent money but damn it's great. I'll look into that cd!
I have a Rush Counterparts 2016 reissue that I bought sealed with a Sharpie line through the barcode. I’m thinking that it was marked that way to indicate it was a promo or advance copy.
Great video! I collect promos as well but I’m more into singles. Another cool thing about promo singles is on occasion the promo 45 would come with a promo only pic/title sleeve that would differ from the stock release. Especially in the 70’s, the promo would contain a special radio edit that was different than the retail single version. Many labels would include a press insert with the record and issue the promo on colored wax. Motown pressed many of their promos on colored vinyl.
I have a 1981 double promotional album of Men at Work, Business As Usual (side one only) with Columbia label and Ange City's Flush the Fashion on side 2 with Epic label.
The coolest promo I have is a special LP put out by Mercury in the 70s called Everything Your Listeners Ever Wanted To Hear By Rush But You Were Afraid To Play.
Great video. Didn’t know that about corner cuts. The amount of people at record fairs mis-selling these as promos is mad! I’m fairly new to collecting and most of my collection is newer stuff but only have one promo and that’s a minimalist cover version of the white stripes - elephant!
I got a bunch of promo record's from a dj and mine burned up in a fire. I still have not been able to get them or find them. I love your videos. I have some but still trying to find out how much they are worth.
I've got loads of promos, mostly 12* singles from the 1980s-1990s when I used to Dj and visit record fairs regularly. Some of them are truly fabulous sounding, aside from sometimes getting the extra or weird mixes or tracks. I don't really go for early promo albums, though I do have a couple (like Sgt Pepper mono). I do hundreds of video games promos but they're not the same of course because digital doesn't make a difference to quality. They're always neat to have and sometimes a few of the weird extras make them fun having.
Hey Dillon-I'm a record collector/enthusiast who worked at record stores and radio stations for decades. Promotional albums were plentiful. Here's a trick we used to remove those timing strips and promo labels: saturate the label with lighter fluid. Put a heavy stack o' records on top 'n let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Pull off the stickers 'n use more fluid to remove any residual glue. Once the fluid evaporates you have a perfectly clean stickerless album cover. It's obvious you seem to like the stickers as proof o' promo but we couldn't wait to clean these covers, still retaining the promo vinyl.
Even on cutouts there is such a vast way that they do it. I have “cutouts” from like the 60’s that have a metal rivet punched into the corner. Sometimes it’s a hole punch like it was done with a thick needle and has zero loss of cover material. I actually have a cut corner or two that I’ve done because it looks better cut than it does with a chewed up cover corner.
I ran a Camelot Music store in the 70s. The corner cuts and the ones with a slot cut were usually heavily discounted and called Cut Outs. We had bins full of them. At the end of a order cycle we would often box up a lot of those and send them back to the company. I don't know what they did with them. Some of them were good music but just never got the notoriety that the big artists usually got. That seems to be a function of how much the record companies invested in their push to get the records widely played. Some of them were real dogs that we couldn't give away. Those usually wound up in the .99 cent bin.
always enjoy your videos. and as you started talking about the corner cut albums, i remembered having one. it`s a record i bought like 30 years ago. it`s rockwell (yes, the one where michael jackson sang, somebody`s watching me). but in germany not the corner was cut. it was just perforated on the upper left corner. :)
Great video, very informative for us newbies. I have a ton of 45’s, what about those with a drill hole ok label and those stamped fragile on label? Thank you
I have seen some corner cut promos which also had the gold stamp on it. Most likely it was so that it could not be returned to a store or sold to the public. Also, some promotional issues had longer or slightly different versions of songs than the later stock copies did. Some were also cut for "Air Play" with slightly different versions of the songs.
PERFECT video...giving information to really help new collectors understand this aspect of collecting while showing things that will make veteran collector drool!!!!! lol Nice job. I love promos as well. Just adds that little something special to an album.
My best friends family owned two radio stations in the late 60s through the mid 80s. We would go over there all the time bugging the DJs who as 5th graders all the way through high school we thought were very cool. I noticed in a back room they had shelves from floor to ceiling full of record albums. I asked what they were and my friends dad (the owner), said "Those are white label promos, do you want them?" Free records? Heck yes. It took me three days, but I loaded every single one of them in my car and took them to my parents house. Many years later, my friend asked if I still had them and if I wanted to sell them. Well, I sure do miss him, but I sure did enjoy the money they sold for during the vinyl craze a few years ago. Yes, corner cuts, saw marks, punch holes, notch cuts ARE NOT PROMOS! They are remainders, overstocks or company buy-backs because they didn't sell well.
another great vid! that Judy Henske/Yesser record is amazing! I have a cut-corner record from the 90' that was pulled because it is missing a parental advisory stamp
That Danzig, man that's rad, I have to still settle for a damn boot because they're so spendy still...and gotta give you props for turning me on to Toad, I LOVE that album!
Me I have a promo Lp copy of the song Precious Love by Bob Welch that has the white label & white Record sleeve! Both sides has the same song that clocks in at 6 minutes & 7 seconds!
Hey Dillon! My favorite white label promo is "Private Eyes" by Tommy Bolin! Found it at a record store for I think, $3.99! Excellent condition and has the timing strip on the outside. I was stoked to find it!!!
Many Capitol / EMI Promos from the 80's have numbers on them ( Frequently scratched out ) Those were ID numbers of the Capitol employee who gave out the promos. Many ended up in used bins in LA & NYC & it was an attempt by Capitol to stop that - It didn't work !
I wonder where the sweet spot for record pressings is? Is it the very first pressings, or later pressings where the stamper has been used a bit. How long before a new stamper has to be made? Great topic, thanks.
I don't actively seek out promo copies, but it's fun to find them occasionally. More than anything, it always makes me wonder who it was sent to in the first place for promo purposes.
Nice the Neil Merryweather album was one I grew up on also my dad had Kraftwerk Autobahn corner cut. What doesn't sell one moment is collectable the next.
Really interesting video. Didn't know the ' corner cut' was for records that didn't sell well. I have a UK copy of Farewell Alderbaran without a corner cut on straight.( I paid decent money for it). I've got a US copy of Mike Herons' first album with the corner cut that I got very cheap. Amazing Dylan debut with the stickers, great seeing that.
Good video.. I had gotten a few promo's just by chance through Discogs. I was thinking that they sounded better. My stereo is very average and I can still tell the difference. I have had about 5 copys of E,L&P (first album) over the years and 3 now. No doubt the promo sounds the best.
I found the Neil Merryweather Space Rangers I LP here on UA-cam, very cool and enjoyable. Wiki has his long but interesting biog, (he passed March 2021), of his career, and news of another LP titled Kryptonite, which is also worth a listen. Dillon mentioned the LP stampers wearing out, but they recut them, so the matrix number on the lead out track will change.
A couple of years ago I purchased a sealed copy of Dan Auerbach Waiting On A Song. It was hard to find at the time so I picked it up on eBay and the pictures showed a small slit on the back in the shrink wrap right where the barcode is and someone took a sharpie and marked over the barcode while leaving it still sealed. Any ideas as to why this may have been done? Thx
Excellent and informative vid regarding promos. I wasn’t really sure if promos could or would have a different sound quality but you made a great point regarding this. Ive also notice on some promo record labels, at time they are different. Having recently purchase a copy of Frank Sinatras Watertown album, the label is really different compared to the commercial release. The label reads differently and easier for the DJ to go through. Thank you
Aloha Dylan, Mele Kalikimaka. You have some awesome promotional albums! I to enjoy collecting White label promo's. I have a few but nothing like the one's you've shown Wow! Thanks for a great video. Looking forward to seeing your next video. Mahalo Ed
It’s been hard to find more desirable WLP’s in my area, I did get lucky and find a really nice American Beauty WLP recently though. I know not everyone loves the big timing strips covering the art, but I love them oddly enough.
I don't have any promo records as of yet. But I have 1 corner cut record, it's "out of the blue" by the electric light orchestra :) which to be honest I'm kinda surprised it got corner cut
I have a lot of promo 45's that say DJ copy on them. Found them at Goodwill back in the mid 90's when the local radio stations went to tapes and then to CDs. Lots of hidden jewels, spent about $800 the day I found them, bought most of what Goodwill had in the bins!
I have a gold stamp promo copy of Donald Fagen`s The Nightfly. This may be one of my favorite records of all time. It`s clean crisp and clear. I use this album to evaluate any piece of stereo gear I buy. I really can`t recall where or when I got it. All`s I know is this is a true vinyl treasure. I`m lucky to have it .
You forgot to mention the promos that are pressed in a specific color for promotion only. ( Beatles- Reel Music,gold vinyl or Starz- Violation, also gold vinyl etc.). Just figured I'd try to be of help. Great video again.
Some promo records won't have any notices like "This recording is licensed for private home use only". I have a 45 of "No Shelter" by Rage Against the Machine. It's red and has the same song on both sides.
Yes! All my questions about my Promo records answered here! I have a 1965 label promo of Johnny Cash Sings The Ballads Of The True West. It's nearly mint and I bet it was only played once or twice by the radio station. Discogs and my local radio stores don't seem to put a lot of value for these records...and that's fine with me. Fantastic vinyl at a great price!
I bought an unnumbered pink mofi copy of Beck's Sea Change recently.. I've read that some people consider these as mofi promo copies. Any truth to that? Do you think they were pressed earlier than the numbered copies? Thanks.
Hi Dillon great video buddy I have a few promos nothing too get excited about but the album's I love are the US pressings I find over here in the UK, always wonder who owned it first & how did they get here?.
Thanks Dillon passed those ip years ago could kick myself. Would you consider those like book sets given only by radio station promo? Thanks for all your insight. Have a blessed day.
surprised you never covered the demonstration not for sale versus demo record contradiction - it fits nicely into this overview being that demos are also first off the press - although normally 45 RPM single - records that were sent to radio stations prior to release
I also love promos. Although I don't consider most Gold Stamp promos to be in the same category as White Label Promos or promos with some printing difference on the label. Most gold stamp promos I've seen aren't any different than other retail versions...most aren't even early stampers. Most of the time they took regular retail versions and just stamped them, so they really aren't different. - My top 5 WLP's I own are - Pink Floyd - The Wall King Crimson - Islands Soft Machine - Third The Mothers Of Invention - Uncle Meat Graham Nash - Songs For Beginners (D/J Copy Monural)
I have two promos with the same black, cheap cover with a gold stamp on the cover. The Producers one I have does not have any mark of promo on the label but I compared it with other ones and that seems to be normal for this record.
Book publishers also mark copies of books that don't sell well, sometimes just drawing a line across the edge of the pages. This is called a remainder mark.
Hey Dillon screw you! Now I’m on the quest for a Nebraska promo copy. Absolute killer album and would love to see if the promo copies sound even better, just a raw album as it is can only expect a little bit more on a promo copy
My favorite promos are Velvet Underground albums on Verve. East coast copies were Yellow, west coast copies were white! As were all Verve promos. Beautiful they are!
Promos are cool to collect, but if you want to take the crazy up a notch go for test pressings. It's the best way to know for sure that you have the earliest pressing. Be careful though: these days some labels have caught on to the fact that these are highly sought after, and they'll order 50 test pressings so they can sell them at a higher price. Also, the purpose of a test pressing is to verify there's no problem with the plates--so some test pressings might have sound quality issues.
You didn’t mention the hole punched albums! Cousin of the cut corner haha. Gets confusing when you factor in that CDs used hole punches through barcodes in place of or in conjunction with gold stamps.
I have a few Promos. But, none with them with the Strips / Timelines. I think from the early / mid 80's mostly it seems to me that there was just a Stamp / Print on the Cover and the Label ? I do have a few Promo 12" E.P.'s from the early 90's. Thought I have wondered how big a collection of Promos must be in (the Late Great) DJ John Peel's record collection ? Do you ever come across "John Peel Sessions" L.P.'s during your record buying / collecting ? Or in your collection ? .
You probably know this but when the record company gave the extra albums to the radio station, they put one you know in the DJ booth the program director puts one back in case something happens to that copy.. and the DJs usually take some home with them the ones the DJs took home with them are the ones that usually stay in relatively good condition. I've seen album covers and CD covers written on, coffee stains on them, especially overnight DJ was it always notorious for riding on album covers...lol. And I definitely have seen in my career being a radio DJ promo CDs that had a cut in the case... Simply because they don't want it returned and they take it like a step further besides putting the promo stick on it...✌️
Labels typically used white labels because it was cheaper. I know you are an indie store but many chain stores were able to to exchange titles that weren't selling with their distributors. If it was cut-out, the STORE could not return it even though it was sealed.
Corner cut and notched records all ended up in the bargain bin... and sometimes its shameful what ended up in there. Prince's Controversy was always in the cut out bin and it blew my mind, that's such a great f'n album. Probably my favorite of his.
I've never considered stamped cover promos as true promos...to me it's the label that counts most as a true promo...i used to get back catalog lp's from a few labels in the days and they would just stamp or even cut a corner ...sometimes a hole punch
The stamped promos, as he stated in the video, were most likely first pressings on better quality vinyl. They may seem insignificant but side by side probably sound better than most stock copies.
I'm a weirdo who caught onto promos early because I lived between two major radio markets. Station I worked at (late 90s/early 00s) was still getting monthly mixed promo CDs and tons of CD singles. Got a lot of my new rock at the time from their rejects. I got a couple collections from radio DJs--the worse of a jerk, the worse the records' conditions.
A few weeks ago I came across a bag full of promos and test presses for around 20 bucks at the flea market, but I passed on it because all of them were either unknown to me, or they were some bad folk singers. Plus they had scratches and the seller didn't know much on the test presses. Pass for me dog. Love, Chet Baker
Just my opinion here…but I think you may have made a really bad decision there. lol. Unless they were absolutely thrashed, there could’ve been some gold there. Personally I’d never pass on a $20 grab bag of obscure promos and test pressings. Resale value can be ridiculous for some of that stuff. If I ended up with a bunch of crap for $20, oh well. It would be fun going through them all.
In my comedy collection, another reason I look for promos has to do with radio edits. A lot of comedy was released with words that cannot be aired on the radio. Comedy records were sometimes edited to be radio safe and released as promos. It's fun to find both the promo and the regular release of a comedy record to hear what was edited out for radio.
Good to know!
Promo records were not only sent to radio stations. Some were sent to record reviewers, jukeboxes, and club DJs. The jukebox promos tended to be a bit different in that they had separate A sides and B sides. As for radio, many 45s sent to radio stations had a mono side and a stereo side of the same song. This matched up with station configurations. Think typical AM stations vs the FM stereo transmitters. Additionally, the promo records were identified as being required to return the recordings back to the record companies upon demand. As for me, I have heard career radio pros discuss this. They had never heard of a record company demanding the return of their recordings.
2 recent finds: Flick of the Switch AC/DC with PROMO written thru the grooves in colors of the spectrum. Corner cut: Winos Rhinos & Lunatics MAN.
Never heard of that AC/DC promo with colors in the grooves. Pics?
Cut-outs were basically a write-off of intellectual property. The physical disk represented only a fraction of the cost of the record, but the IRS required the labels to carry the physical disk at fully loaded value, which was unfavorable to label if the records didn't sell quickly. So the labels would dump the disks, and in doing so vaporize the intellectual property they represented. When a cut-out was sold, neither the artist nor the songwriter received any royalties from the sale, so the buyer was just paying for the physical disk. The label recovered their manufacturing cost, and got rid of inventory that was expensive to carry.
I love promos I have a bunch of country ones.For example I have most all of Marty Robbins and George Jones albums that are white label promos.I also have the Madonna like a virgin wedding dress white vinyl.Thanks for doing this video.
🙂I recently found a John Conley promo 45 at a flea market, 🤷🏼♀️but wondered where people got promos if they weren't sold in stores. 🤷🏼♀️Could you please help me understand how people got promos?
There were also the Quiex II promos in the late 70s and early 80s, mostly from Warner Brothers associated labels. Besides the high-quality vinyl, the label would cut special lacquers with more bass and dynamic range than the stock copies, and use them for a limited run. These records were discovered by audiophiles early on, and were very collectible.
Need to see that. Interesting. Sounds pretty obscure.
I should add that these Quiex pressings are translucent when held to light, sometimes with shades of blue, green or red.
I have many Quiex promos - they are indeed great (and translucent).
Found a john lennon 15 greatest hits version of this today and it has a gold promo stamp as well
Back in the 70’s white label promos were common here in Southern California, I still have a few like, Alice Cooper’s “Schools Out” complete with panties and report card/song list. Others Neil Young “Time Fades Away”, Jimi Hendrix “War Heroes”, Elvis Costello “My Aim is True” a few more…I miss the good old days great records for cheap. Another great video…Thanks ☮️✌️☮️
I have a few Promo records. I generally collect older used progressive and hard rock albums. I like the promos I’ve purchased because they seem to be in better shape than most of the other used records in my collection. Less wear and tear on the record itself and also on the cover while graded the same as the “non promo” albums I have. Now when I’m searching bins, if I see one, I’ll grab the promo first as long as it’s priced near the regular release price.
Being an avid 60s Soul collector, i own many "promotional", "demonstration (demo)", "d.j. copy", "radio station copy" 45s. A lot of these even have release notes with them.
Happy collecting evreyone.
Some songs from the 90's and 2000's had promo releases on Vinyl too. I just recently picked up some promo copies of the songs "Honestly" and "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" by an artist called Lumidee.
Promos are cool, I especially dig them when they have notes and stuff written on them by the DJ's at the radio station.
I have numerous Promo Records for sale on my Discogs site. There is a Cactus Record with a generic cover, that has some of the most vintage stuff written on it from 1970. If someone is interested in any of these records, let me know? Thanks
Promo's are primarily a re-invention of record retailers, particularly post-2000's... traditionally promos were frowned upon by record collectors as they were typically treated poorly by DJ's and record store employees, the stamp/sticker would obscure the album art and in the 80's and mid-90's they were... everywhere. If you were trying to save a few dollars or weren't sure of the band, you'd buy the promo. Sometime in the early 2000's, after the vinyl resurgence, record stores manipulated the scarcity to create a demand that hadn't existed previously. No particular judgement here, but I find the transition interesting.
Your point about the DJ's mistreating the records is well taken. If you manage to find one in near mint condition then that would cancel out that problem though. And one could make the argument that some DJ's might treat their records well so they will sound good on the radio. The big white timing strips that obscure the album artwork are unfortunate.
Yes, there's a lot demand that transitions from one type to another. Cd vs vinyl, promo vs stock, digital vs analog, download vs streaming. It may show that there is a generational shift.
When I started buying vinyl again six years ago I was surprised that promo records were desirable. What an about face. I started buying CDs but never got rid of my records.
depends on the radio station or the DJ - if they took care of the record, I got a copy of Bruce Springsteen - Darkness On The Edge Of Town which had never even been played before because the hole in the label wasn't completely punched through so it's a "better than first pressing" in terms of initial quality and still in brand new condition - probably because it was Bruce's first album in 3 years and didn't do well on the charts at the height of disco 'Prove It All Night' was the only top 40 song peaking at #33 and believe it or not 'Badlands' which is a concert staple of his and probably in his top 5 all time songs only got to #42 and his next hit "Hungry Heart" wasn't for another 2 years. By the time "Born in the USA" came out and made him a superstar in 1984 MTV was king and a lot of the radio stations had already switched from DJs spinning vinyl to machines playing reel to reel or CD.
I started as a DJ in radio in the late 1970's. Through half a dozen stations and perhaps hundreds of people working on-air I don't know anyone who mistreated our vinyl poorly. Also, near mint copies of radio station promo's are more common than you may think. I have a copy of Pink Floyd Animals that was never played because it did not fit the stations format. It was cataloged into the station inventory and put away where it sat for nearly 40 years until I picked it up last year.
I've gotten promos with timing strip sticker unpeeled inside the jacket
Wow that is strange. Kinda way better that way since it did not ruin the cover art.
The only promo i own is Blue oyster cult's spectres. not worth much but when i started collecting. i always felt special that i owned a copy that was not meant to be sold and that was owned by a radio station ( not sure what station)
anyways thanks for suggesting velvet underground's first album in one of your videos. its now in my top ten albums.
P.s could you do a video on the deal with vertigo pressings.
Saw them twice
vertigo pressings are typically desired because they had the original masters for a lot of bands like sabbath for example. They have all sounded great that I've owned (at least UK pressings) especially in the case of sabbath.
Those are some beautiful promos, Dillon. I’m a total sucker for promotional copies as well. I have heard some differing opinions regarding promo copies, including one by someone who owns a pressing plant. He said that the best sounding pressings can often time come from during the middle of the day when the presses are all warmed up and working optimally. Even after hearing that, I still love promos, and I own a few promo records as well as the standard pressing counterparts. The difference is subtle, but the promo copies seem to have a bit more detail to them. Great vid. Thanks, Dillon!
Thanks so much!
My favorite promo stamp is on a Frank Sinatra album and it is punch stamped with the word promo is little holes making the letters. So cool!
Yes! Capitol did that sometimes!
Great video! By the way, have you ever done on video on your preferred method for cleaning records? Would be great to see. Keep on rockin!
Love finding promos in the wild. My favorites that I have are DEVO's first album, The Chocolate Watchband "The Inner Mystique" mono, and The United States of America mono with the timing strip.
Dude you have some serious good taste with those last two albums you mentioned. The USA mono promo I have too. One of my favorite psych albums. I also have a stock stereo copy with the top secret envelope that is still sealed and is a first sixties press. I also have a sixties Japanese yellow label promo which is as rare as an honest politician. Check out the Sundazed CD of it for lots of killer bonus tracks.
@@booklover3959 Hey don't be dissing DEVO though. Lol. The second two I got in a lot of about 600 records at a garage sale. They just wanted them gone. They took 50 bucks for all of it. I could sell that United states record for decent money but damn it's great. I'll look into that cd!
I have a Rush Counterparts 2016 reissue that I bought sealed with a Sharpie line through the barcode. I’m thinking that it was marked that way to indicate it was a promo or advance copy.
Great video! I collect promos as well but I’m more into singles. Another cool thing about promo singles is on occasion the promo 45 would come with a promo only pic/title sleeve that would differ from the stock release. Especially in the 70’s, the promo would contain a special radio edit that was different than the retail single version. Many labels would include a press insert with the record and issue the promo on colored wax. Motown pressed many of their promos on colored vinyl.
I have a 1981 double promotional album of Men at Work, Business As Usual (side one only) with Columbia label and Ange City's Flush the Fashion on side 2 with Epic label.
The coolest promo I have is a special LP put out by Mercury in the 70s called Everything Your Listeners Ever Wanted To Hear By Rush But You Were Afraid To Play.
That’s a whole other type of promo where it was never released and just put out to get attention. The variety of promos is never ending.
Great video. Didn’t know that about corner cuts. The amount of people at record fairs mis-selling these as promos is mad! I’m fairly new to collecting and most of my collection is newer stuff but only have one promo and that’s a minimalist cover version of the white stripes - elephant!
I have a good morning vietnam promo, nothing special but at least i have one! Also what zeppelin promos do you have?
I got a bunch of promo record's from a dj and mine burned up in a fire. I still have not been able to get them or find them. I love your videos. I have some but still trying to find out how much they are worth.
I've got loads of promos, mostly 12* singles from the 1980s-1990s when I used to Dj and visit record fairs regularly. Some of them are truly fabulous sounding, aside from sometimes getting the extra or weird mixes or tracks. I don't really go for early promo albums, though I do have a couple (like Sgt Pepper mono).
I do hundreds of video games promos but they're not the same of course because digital doesn't make a difference to quality. They're always neat to have and sometimes a few of the weird extras make them fun having.
Hey Dillon-I'm a record collector/enthusiast who worked at record stores and radio stations for decades. Promotional albums were plentiful. Here's a trick we used to remove those timing strips and promo labels: saturate the label with lighter fluid. Put a heavy stack o' records on top 'n let it sit for 2-3 minutes. Pull off the stickers 'n use more fluid to remove any residual glue. Once the fluid evaporates you have a perfectly clean stickerless album cover. It's obvious you seem to like the stickers as proof o' promo but we couldn't wait to clean these covers, still retaining the promo vinyl.
Hi Dillon, great topic. I have an original 60s Yellow Submarine still in shrink wrap with a hole on the corner. The Beatles?????? Why??????
Even on cutouts there is such a vast way that they do it. I have “cutouts” from like the 60’s that have a metal rivet punched into the corner. Sometimes it’s a hole punch like it was done with a thick needle and has zero loss of cover material. I actually have a cut corner or two that I’ve done because it looks better cut than it does with a chewed up cover corner.
lol, I've done that several times!
Those ones with the rivets in them were for store display and they would hang them up or they could have them on a peg.
@@CaptCook999 I had no idea. Interesting. Thanks.
I ran a Camelot Music store in the 70s. The corner cuts and the ones with a slot cut were usually heavily discounted and called Cut Outs. We had bins full of them. At the end of a order cycle we would often box up a lot of those and send them back to the company. I don't know what they did with them. Some of them were good music but just never got the notoriety that the big artists usually got. That seems to be a function of how much the record companies invested in their push to get the records widely played. Some of them were real dogs that we couldn't give away. Those usually wound up in the .99 cent bin.
Also promos have early mixes on them remixes that sometimes dont make the official shop copy ..
always enjoy your videos. and as you started talking about the corner cut albums, i remembered having one. it`s a record i bought like 30 years ago. it`s rockwell (yes, the one where michael jackson sang, somebody`s watching me). but in germany not the corner was cut. it was just perforated on the upper left corner. :)
Great video, very informative for us newbies. I have a ton of 45’s, what about those with a drill hole ok label and those stamped fragile on label? Thank you
I have seen some corner cut promos which also had the gold stamp on it. Most likely it was so that it could not be returned to a store or sold to the public.
Also, some promotional issues had longer or slightly different versions of songs than the later stock copies did. Some were also cut for "Air Play" with slightly different versions of the songs.
I keep waiting for record company agents to show up at my door and demand all their promo records that the sticker says they own.
In the 1980's I used to buy promos in the local record store, but only because I couldn't find a non promo copy!
PERFECT video...giving information to really help new collectors understand this aspect of collecting while showing things that will make veteran collector drool!!!!! lol Nice job.
I love promos as well. Just adds that little something special to an album.
My best friends family owned two radio stations in the late 60s through the mid 80s. We would go over there all the time bugging the DJs who as 5th graders all the way through high school we thought were very cool.
I noticed in a back room they had shelves from floor to ceiling full of record albums. I asked what they were and my friends dad (the owner), said "Those are white label promos, do you want them?" Free records? Heck yes. It took me three days, but I loaded every single one of them in my car and took them to my parents house.
Many years later, my friend asked if I still had them and if I wanted to sell them. Well, I sure do miss him, but I sure did enjoy the money they sold for during the vinyl craze a few years ago.
Yes, corner cuts, saw marks, punch holes, notch cuts ARE NOT PROMOS! They are remainders, overstocks or company buy-backs because they didn't sell well.
another great vid!
that Judy Henske/Yesser record is amazing!
I have a cut-corner record from the 90' that was pulled because it is missing a parental advisory stamp
yes! i got a reish a few years back.
That Danzig, man that's rad, I have to still settle for a damn boot because they're so spendy still...and gotta give you props for turning me on to Toad, I LOVE that album!
It’s a tough one to find!
@@noblerecords I still need it on vinyl my man..been streaming it!
Me I have a promo Lp copy of the song Precious Love by Bob Welch that has the white label & white Record sleeve! Both sides has the same song that clocks in at 6 minutes & 7 seconds!
Hey Dillon! My favorite white label promo is "Private Eyes" by Tommy Bolin! Found it at a record store for I think, $3.99! Excellent condition and has the timing strip on the outside. I was stoked to find it!!!
Awesome!
Many Capitol / EMI Promos from the 80's have numbers on them ( Frequently scratched out ) Those were ID numbers of the Capitol employee who gave out the promos. Many ended up in used bins in LA & NYC & it was an attempt by Capitol to stop that - It didn't work !
I wonder where the sweet spot for record pressings is? Is it the very first pressings, or later pressings where the stamper has been used a bit. How long before a new stamper has to be made? Great topic, thanks.
I don't actively seek out promo copies, but it's fun to find them occasionally. More than anything, it always makes me wonder who it was sent to in the first place for promo purposes.
Nice the Neil Merryweather album was one I grew up on also my dad had Kraftwerk Autobahn corner cut. What doesn't sell one moment is collectable the next.
Really interesting video.
Didn't know the ' corner cut' was for records that didn't sell well.
I have a UK copy of Farewell Alderbaran without a corner cut on straight.( I paid decent money for it).
I've got a US copy of Mike Herons' first album with the corner cut that I got very cheap.
Amazing Dylan debut with the stickers, great seeing that.
It's mint unopened is this worth any thing. The pin comes off where someone wrote on the plastic cover. Keep in mind never opened still sealed
Good video.. I had gotten a few promo's just by chance through Discogs. I was thinking that they sounded better. My stereo is very average and I can still tell the difference. I have had about 5 copys of E,L&P (first album) over the years and 3 now. No doubt the promo sounds the best.
One of my best finds was a promotion copy of Television's Marquee Moon, one of my all time favorite albums!
I only own one & love it / near mint / Genesis 3 Sides Live / gold stamp / white label / track listing sticker on front.
I found the Neil Merryweather Space Rangers I LP here on UA-cam, very cool and enjoyable. Wiki has his long but interesting biog, (he passed March 2021), of his career, and news of another LP titled Kryptonite, which is also worth a listen. Dillon mentioned the LP stampers wearing out, but they recut them, so the matrix number on the lead out track will change.
A couple of years ago I purchased a sealed copy of Dan Auerbach Waiting On A Song. It was hard to find at the time so I picked it up on eBay and the pictures showed a small slit on the back in the shrink wrap right where the barcode is and someone took a sharpie and marked over the barcode while leaving it still sealed. Any ideas as to why this may have been done? Thx
Excellent and informative vid regarding promos. I wasn’t really sure if promos could or would have a different sound quality but you made a great point regarding this. Ive also notice on some promo record labels, at time they are different. Having recently purchase a copy of Frank Sinatras Watertown album, the label is really different compared to the commercial release. The label reads differently and easier for the DJ to go through. Thank you
Aloha Dylan, Mele Kalikimaka. You have some awesome promotional albums! I to enjoy collecting White label promo's. I have a few but nothing like the one's you've shown Wow! Thanks for a great video.
Looking forward to seeing your next video. Mahalo Ed
It’s been hard to find more desirable WLP’s in my area, I did get lucky and find a really nice American Beauty WLP recently though. I know not everyone loves the big timing strips covering the art, but I love them oddly enough.
I don't have any promo records as of yet. But I have 1 corner cut record, it's "out of the blue" by the electric light orchestra :) which to be honest I'm kinda surprised it got corner cut
very very interesting... Thanks!
I have a lot of promo 45's that say DJ copy on them. Found them at Goodwill back in the mid 90's when the local radio stations went to tapes and then to CDs. Lots of hidden jewels, spent about $800 the day I found them, bought most of what Goodwill had in the bins!
I have a gold stamp promo copy of Donald Fagen`s The Nightfly. This may be one of my favorite records of all time. It`s clean crisp and clear. I use this album to evaluate any piece of stereo gear I buy. I really can`t recall where or when I got it. All`s I know is this is a true vinyl treasure. I`m lucky to have it .
You forgot to mention the promos that are pressed in a specific color for promotion only. ( Beatles- Reel Music,gold vinyl or Starz- Violation, also gold vinyl etc.). Just figured I'd try to be of help. Great video again.
So what’s the deal with sleeves that have a hole punched in it? I’ve heard some say those are promos as well, and others said it isn’t.
Some promo records won't have any notices like "This recording is licensed for private home use only". I have a 45 of "No Shelter" by Rage Against the Machine. It's red and has the same song on both sides.
Any info on Promo albums on Quiex II vinyl?
Yes! All my questions about my Promo records answered here! I have a 1965 label promo of Johnny Cash Sings The Ballads Of The True West. It's nearly mint and I bet it was only played once or twice by the radio station. Discogs and my local radio stores don't seem to put a lot of value for these records...and that's fine with me. Fantastic vinyl at a great price!
Great vid as usual. Mr. Dillon, do you have a live stream planned at this time?
Working on it!
I bought an unnumbered pink mofi copy of Beck's Sea Change recently.. I've read that some people consider these as mofi promo copies. Any truth to that? Do you think they were pressed earlier than the numbered copies? Thanks.
Great explainations
I think the common nomenclature is “cut outs”, which is less of a mouthful than “Corner Cut Records”…
Hi Dillon great video buddy I have a few promos nothing too get excited about but the album's I love are the US pressings I find over here in the UK, always wonder who owned it first & how did they get here?.
Thanks Dillon passed those ip years ago could kick myself. Would you consider those like book sets given only by radio station promo? Thanks for all your insight. Have a blessed day.
surprised you never covered the demonstration not for sale versus demo record contradiction - it fits nicely into this overview being that demos are also first off the press - although normally 45 RPM single - records that were sent to radio stations prior to release
Is that a copy of Missus Beastly I see in the bottom left-hand corner? Such a good record!
Yeah! Good eye!
That Danzig promo is pretty gnarly. Would love to peruse your lil promo record treasure room. Thank you 🙏
I was a dj at my college radio station back in the 80”s and we got promos all the time … should have kept some .. cheers
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the tremendous Gandalf LP- which I’ve seen sold many times with “Free” punched in the top right corner.
I also love promos. Although I don't consider most Gold Stamp promos to be in the same category as White Label Promos or promos with some printing difference on the label. Most gold stamp promos I've seen aren't any different than other retail versions...most aren't even early stampers. Most of the time they took regular retail versions and just stamped them, so they really aren't different. - My top 5 WLP's I own are -
Pink Floyd - The Wall
King Crimson - Islands
Soft Machine - Third
The Mothers Of Invention - Uncle Meat
Graham Nash - Songs For Beginners (D/J Copy Monural)
I would love to hear that mono Songs For Beginners!
Had no idea that existed.
I have two promos with the same black, cheap cover with a gold stamp on the cover. The Producers one I have does not have any mark of promo on the label but I compared it with other ones and that seems to be normal for this record.
I have some promos and disc jockey 45’s with stamps and dated not for sale.. Jeannie C Riley the rib and the whispers 32 album
Brilliant vid.Ya.We like a promo or two? How about doing one on Picture Disc's?
Book publishers also mark copies of books that don't sell well, sometimes just drawing a line across the edge of the pages. This is called a remainder mark.
Ive got alot of disk jocky not for sale on the labels 45s are they worth more
It's Barbra Streisand....people
Hey Dillon screw you! Now I’m on the quest for a Nebraska promo copy. Absolute killer album and would love to see if the promo copies sound even better, just a raw album as it is can only expect a little bit more on a promo copy
My favorite promos are Velvet Underground albums on Verve. East coast copies were Yellow, west coast copies were white! As were all Verve promos. Beautiful they are!
Oh yes!
Promos are cool to collect, but if you want to take the crazy up a notch go for test pressings. It's the best way to know for sure that you have the earliest pressing. Be careful though: these days some labels have caught on to the fact that these are highly sought after, and they'll order 50 test pressings so they can sell them at a higher price. Also, the purpose of a test pressing is to verify there's no problem with the plates--so some test pressings might have sound quality issues.
I have a couple test pressings, but not really interested in going down that rabbit hole 🤣
You didn’t mention the hole punched albums! Cousin of the cut corner haha. Gets confusing when you factor in that CDs used hole punches through barcodes in place of or in conjunction with gold stamps.
Haha yeah same thing
I think I have a copy of Gary Numan’s Dance with a gold promo stamp on the jacket and a copy of Telekon with the Atco timing strip.
Very Informative. Thanks. I love me some promos as well
I have a few Promos. But, none with them with the Strips / Timelines.
I think from the early / mid 80's mostly it seems to me that there was just a Stamp / Print on the Cover and the Label ?
I do have a few Promo 12" E.P.'s from the early 90's.
Thought I have wondered how big a collection of Promos must be in (the Late Great) DJ John Peel's record collection ? Do you ever come across "John Peel Sessions" L.P.'s during your record buying / collecting ? Or in your collection ?
.
Wow, Nebraska is also my fave Springsteen album!
You probably know this but when the record company gave the extra albums to the radio station, they put one you know in the DJ booth the program director puts one back in case something happens to that copy.. and the DJs usually take some home with them the ones the DJs took home with them are the ones that usually stay in relatively good condition. I've seen album covers and CD covers written on, coffee stains on them, especially overnight DJ was it always notorious for riding on album covers...lol. And I definitely have seen in my career being a radio DJ promo CDs that had a cut in the case... Simply because they don't want it returned and they take it like a step further besides putting the promo stick on it...✌️
Very cool!
Some of my fave promos have only 6 tracks from the entire record. There are also hole punch records.
Labels typically used white labels because it was cheaper.
I know you are an indie store but many chain stores were able to to exchange titles that weren't selling with their distributors. If it was cut-out, the STORE could not return it even though it was sealed.
are promos worth more than stock copies ?
Corner cut and notched records all ended up in the bargain bin... and sometimes its shameful what ended up in there. Prince's Controversy was always in the cut out bin and it blew my mind, that's such a great f'n album. Probably my favorite of his.
I've never considered stamped cover promos as true promos...to me it's the label that counts most as a true promo...i used to get back catalog lp's from a few labels in the days and they would just stamp or even cut a corner ...sometimes a hole punch
The stamped promos, as he stated in the video, were most likely first pressings on better quality vinyl. They may seem insignificant but side by side probably sound better than most stock copies.
I jumped for joy when I found a promo copy of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gold And Platinum comp album.
You provide a wealth of knowledge thanks
I try!
I'm a weirdo who caught onto promos early because I lived between two major radio markets.
Station I worked at (late 90s/early 00s) was still getting monthly mixed promo CDs and tons of CD singles. Got a lot of my new rock at the time from their rejects.
I got a couple collections from radio DJs--the worse of a jerk, the worse the records' conditions.
That’s very cool!
A few weeks ago I came across a bag full of promos and test presses for around 20 bucks at the flea market, but I passed on it because all of them were either unknown to me, or they were some bad folk singers. Plus they had scratches and the seller didn't know much on the test presses. Pass for me dog.
Love,
Chet Baker
Just my opinion here…but I think you may have made a really bad decision there. lol. Unless they were absolutely thrashed, there could’ve been some gold there. Personally I’d never pass on a $20 grab bag of obscure promos and test pressings. Resale value can be ridiculous for some of that stuff. If I ended up with a bunch of crap for $20, oh well. It would be fun going through them all.