Promo Records or: How I've been Shilling for the Record Industry for Half A Century

Even across the Atlantic, I knew this was coming. The British Office of Meteorology made 2 announcements today - - rainstorms in the North of England; & this video.

brought back so many memories of my radio and record store days.. great video my friend.. peace..rocky

Exceptional video. I found it deeply interesting. Never a boring moment. Your passion shows your commitment. Thanks.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Mazzy!!! You have single handedly ruined the record business!!😂😂😂

The Capital records with the hole could be found in the bargain bins at K-Mart.

I remember buying a copy of the Nils Lofgren "bootleg" from a backstreet shop in Leicester,UK in 1976 along with a copy of Little Feat - Electric Lycanthrope. I also got my copies of the early Howard The Duck comics from the same shop. I miss those student days.

I was a 20 yr old stationed in SanDiego 5/73-12/76 on a ship. Down San Diego had a place that was big call Arcade Records that sold all used LP's for $1.98 that they shrink-wrapped and they were in bins not in alphabetical order. I would get mucho WLP's there. When I go out I moved back home to the Cleveland area and would go at least 2 or 3 times a month to a place called Record Revolution that a basement called Stiff Records that had all used and lots of promos. Also down the street was The Record Exchange- also more promo and always cheap. That's how I ended up with my great collection of WLP's- all in great shape from the 1960- 1980.

Enjoyed the “inside-baseball” record promo tales. As you say, it’s the record business. Totally dug the Bear’s Choice promo copy.

ANOTHER REALLY REALLY GOODE ONE..THANK YOU..!!

Thank you for sharing this history. 😊

I was an 80’s -early 90’s kid. I bought a used promo CD of Joyful Noise by the Derek Trucks Band.

One of my favorite videos of yours to date. I worked at a metro Detroit record store chain in the mid to late 90s. Granted, this was the CD age. But, like you said, my collection grew insanely large! That was great! Along with concert tickets and meet n greets before that became a business in itself. Fantastically fun times! I’m also still friends with so many people from that time. It’s really special that all of that happened just because of the love of music. Thanks for sharing the stories!

Promos are part of the music industry. Nothing wrong🥰😍🤩

That should be your new shirt, "Bite It! Mazzy Loves You"

Bravo! Great response to the sour grapes that is going around. Really interesting history, both personal and of the business. I used to write for Goldmine, so I got a lot of promo CDs in those days. Most of them were forwarded to me by the editor as assignments, but a few labels also started sending me promos directly. And a lot of the stuff they would send was like “What in the hell am I supposed to do with THIS?” The assigned stuff, on the other hand, was generally in my wheelhouse, because the editor knew I liked “That prog shit.”

I recall some of the gold stamped promos had an individual number included used for tracking who got what. My Beatles Reel music had one but the store cut it off. We could buy recent released records for 3-4 dollars as an open promo copy versus the $5.98 price for sealed ones.

Great educational video, Mazzy. Those were the days when new/used record stores would have shelves bulging with recent releases for as low as 19 to 29 cents, which was often the case at L.A’s Aron’s Records. The collectors would pack the place. Good work!

I love promo records, especially in my favorite genre of disco there was zillions of them. And you know as many records as Mazzy reviews, he deserves free records because in my humble opinion, he helps sell them. I purchased a couple of these recommendations and I am quite pleased thank you for the videos Mazzy.

Loved hearing your history, Mazzy. I worked in a record store here in Minneapolis (unfortunately out of biz due to the rise of Best Buy). Got to meet 2/3 of the Beastie Boys and see them live at First Ave on their Check Your Head tour. Dig your honesty and transparency. There's a well-known KZhead vinyl guy who somehow gets every single release from an ultra-expensive, ultra-limited-release record company, but never admits he gets them from the record company. Maybe he's lucky... I don't know.

Ah that’s so cool dude. The first promo you were ever given, no one could forget something like that.

Excellent vid, very interesting 👍

MY first job at a record label was merchandiser for CBS in ‘78 here in Cleveland! And I would meet up with the other label guys in town & swap records! Free records, free tickets, free lunches…can’t imagine why the rec biz went down the tubes. Man oh Manischewitz, Mazzy, do we have some stories or what?!?

How wonderful. People giving you records for free. The mind boggles. My favourite free record moment was when I interviewed Denny Laine. He gave me a 12-inch copy of Goodnight Tonight and signed it "Nice one, Neil". Still have it, of course.

Enjoyable video. Thanks. I have several promo copies that I won as prizes from my local FM station back in the 1980s.

I'm glad you've been supplied with some great records. It's great to hear the stories of the past and how you were introduced to the music.

Used to get tons when I managed penguin feather in Georgetown. Lived with a cbs rep…got all that stuff for a decade or so

Really enjoyed this. Reminded me when I used to work in a record store I'd often stick promo posters in the relevant new releases as a surprise for the customers. Still have a few promo objects around....a packet of throat pastels from Earache Records band, chocolate bars for an RCA pop act etc. as well as white label edits and samplers. Used to give them to friends..good fun !

Excellent. So good to listen to no false modesty in this great explainer of how promos work. I might say I'm a little jealous, but there's no shortcut to being a genuine influencer. Experience matters. Throw in enthusiasm and a real love for the music, it's no wonder subscribers form a line. I've started to get links to free digital copies of new releases with requests to listen and review, but these days I'm strictly vinyl and CD. I don't stream anymore, so I pass on having access to online digital. It would be nice to get the odd physical copy of something or other, but I'm not holding my breath.

Solid vid , love the personal backstory as well.

Hi Mazzy - love your channel. I've really learnt something today watching this video - really interesting. I dont have any issues with people like yourself getting free records and the like - you showcase them and your viewers get the benefits of your reviews. Jealousy is a terrible thing - ignore them Mazzy, thats the best way of dealing with these people. Keep up the good work. Cheers Doug (from Down Under)

That Nils Lofgren album is cool. Never seen that.

Thanks for showing Nils Lofgren. Yes it should have had an official release. Just love the version of Going Back. Another one to mention was Meatloaf live, almost the entire Bat album. Again should have been officially released. Thank you once again for all the work you put into your videos. Loved your recent San Francisco ones. Cheersi from the UK.

As a music obsessed teenager growing up in the UK during the 1970s, I discovered that it was fairly easy to obtain promo records from record companies. I don't know if you remember, but back then, Rolling Stone solicited record reviews from their readers and would sometimes print some of them. That happened to me a couple of times so I decided to see what would happen if I wrote to a few labels asking them to send me specific records to review and a few did! I was never put on a mailing list but I do recall in 1975 receiving a package in the mail with a post mark from CBS in London which said "Finally the world is ready for Bruce Springsteen" and inside was a promo of "Born To Run"! I also wrote to labels asking for certain records which were promo-only, not available to the general public like special 12 inch mixes or colored vinyl, and would always be sent a copy with a cheerful note. Importantly, I always sent back a "thank you" note. Oh, and that also worked for t-shirts from both record companies and radio stations as well!

Nice photos on this one too. Billboards! Wow!

Loved your parting shot - too bloody right. You tell ‘em Mazzy! It was so interesting listening to your memories of working in record shops and in the industry. If labels want to send you promo copies then why not? Would be rude to refuse lol. I know I wouldn’t turn down free records. Really enjoyed that video ! Cheers Mazzy!

Hi Mazzy, Back in the 70's around my area, promos weren't popular like they are now. "It's just a promo, man." I would visit (hang out) at our local FM station once in awhile on a weekend and the DJ would give me promos. Sometimes we could find them in the trash behind the record store. Good video, thanks.

Thanks again. Free stuff is always good!

Well said. You are always clear and transparent about what you talk about. Butthurt jealousy! Rojas giving strong Rice Paddies energy!!!

Hey Mazzy Don't worry about the trolls your knowledge and experience is great! I hope you you have a great trip and do another travelogue! Thumbs up! Trish

Hey Mazzy, I dig your channel. Thank you for taking the time to do everything you do here. I think it's LAME that people are jealous or judging you because you are fortunate enough to receive promotional material. From what I've learned from watching your channel is that you pretty much shoot straight from the hip. ;m guessining that labels also see this and that you have created and excellent, thoughtful and articulate platform to speak from. If you like something, great. If you don't, fine. I sir am a total music junkie! I'm here to learn and discover. From the time that I was 15 years old to my early 20's I worked in record retail. For me one of the perks of being in the biz was scoring promo albums, posters, t-shirts and swag. Some of the albums given to the store were played if the powers that be liked it, many were not. Those that were not, nine times out of ten went right into the hot little hands of the employees. I got turned onto a lot of great music that never made it to mainstream radio. Another great perk of getting those promo albums was being able to turn your friends onto the music that no one else had. A lot of the early rock, punk, new wave and hip-hop ended up at a lot of our party's and in turn, exposed a lot of our friends onto unknown or breaking artists. Instead of promotion at the retail level it was at street level and in the end fulfulling the purpose that the labels had intended. I guess what I'm getting at here is that we didn't feel obligated to promote the albums because they were free, we shared the music and turned people on to it because we really dug it. It was about the music!😃

In the 80's & 90's managing record stores I received multiple promotional albums & compact discs of most titles from sales representatives , mailing lists & POP reps & marketing representatives. I could get 4 or 5 copies of most titles & traded in several to get independent & import titles ! It was a perk.

Interesting piece. Thanks for sharing that bit of history. Really nice. Am I jealous? No, not at all! The hundreds of variants of McCartney III? I, think that maybe that is in a small way referring to a comment or two I made! I do understand the marketing thing. Just seems a bit excessive and wasteful to me, but I appreciate your view on the situation and taking the time to offer something by way of an explanation. Keep up the interesting scope of your pieces. Always fascinating.

I find so many in the wild. It makes sense reviewers aren’t going to love everything so off to the market many did go. Often condition is quite nice as a reviewer may have only listened once or twice. They are fun to find. Love them!

Loved the Ford Pinto

Great video! White label, stamped, means nothing to me. Doesn't make the record special or add value to me. I worked in record stores when I was a kid. I was a rack jobber for a time. I owned a record store in the early 90s. Got my share of promos. The only "problem" I've ever had with promos is when people, particularly those in the business, boast about their huge music collection, but when you look at their collection, it's largely promos of artists they're not even into. I pride myself in having curated a great collection of music that I love, not promos that I was just handed. "It's the music, stupid."

I think though I may be wrong, but a lot of USA promos ended up here in the UK - I certainly had a few

Great video. I love and collect promos, especially white label ones. I’ve only paid for my promos as i am not in the business. I suppose its the closest to the master i will get. I had a 73 red pinto for 2 years in high school :(. I need to do a promo video. Damn the trollies!!

I am influenced by your anger and rage. Thanks for the incredible content.

I am definitely jealous and envious, but honestly record labels should send you free records, because you will influence lots of people to buy it. You are a legit music lover who speaks your truth. You have 34K subscribers, not a ton by social media standards, your subscribers are music fans who actually BUY music. We are each worth 100k streamers and casual fans.

Great video Mazzy...in your opinion.. are TEST pressings as desirable as PROMO's?

Great video with a perfect ending. I was laughing with surprise at your impeccable timing, Mazzy! I did a fanzine from the early ‘80s and into the ‘90s. Even early on, my little fanzine received all kinds of promos from the indy labels (and occasional majors) who must’ve thought I could help publicize their bands in those pre-Internet days. It was like getting Christmas presents almost every week even for a small timer like me. Luckily for me, I was introduced to some of my favorite bands via promo review copies and don’t think I wasn’t excited hearing the early Replacements that way! Anyway, thanks for another fun video.

i appreciate pictures of the young influencer included in the video. where are the "takin' it to the streets" widescreen glasses now? you look like someone i worked with at a record store that made enormous sums of money and would never have gone out of business. i came back to town and place was turned into a restaurant. what happened? a few years earlier, owner was shoveling snow just before xmas and died of a heart attack. business was sold because he essentially ran it...i enjoy "passion play" artwork but have never wanted any JT records. having listened to grin just last night, i'd love to hear the nils live record. great video! i was always too anal to want cut outs or collectable promo copies. i was dumb and spent a fortune on cassettes!

I love this shit. In my WEA days I experienced all of this though it was the waning cd days, and definitely way less elaborate. But I did merch as well promoting records in stores. We should have a discussion sometime. Enjoy Austin

Oh dear another minefield back in the 80's early 90's I was sent stuff to play and forms to fill in with the crowd reaction was in my audience! Problem was the majority of stuff sent was err crap! But some was very good! I stopped doing gigs and the records dried up! As a collector having a best friend who was Manager of a record store helped!

I love the Payolas. Great band.

That's great mazzy, you tell them! How cool is that Lennon jacket, I love it. I've always loved that live nils lofgren album, I agree it should have been released instead of the double album they put out a couple of years later. It's much better.

Kudos for addressing those mosquito envy posts. Small minds, tiny stings. Annoyed that FB thought ‘you might like’. The ones I saw were incoherent. Some people don’t understand unsubscribe.

Of course they sold promos. I can't remember looking through used record bins without seeing promos.

I agree, Jealousy has a lot to do with it.

Take a day off. 😂😂😂

I love the promo records. I have a 1000 of them been buying them since the early 80s. Yeah, they were good. I was a big ECM collector and I would always try to get the ECM zone promo because the vinyl was better back than in the 80s. When Warner brothers started distributing e, c, m, the vinyl was pure shit

I joined the music biz in 1991 and just missed the vinyl promos platform so all mine are in CD format aka utterly worthless…anyone need some drink coasters?!

Colemine Records is probably one of the only labels today that does white label promo copies and their promo sticker look like the Warner Brothers promo stickers lol. But they still send promo copies to record stores to promote their artists. I've snagged a couple off Discogs, but their just amazing

Selling promos was a way to supplement our income. Working in record stores was not gonna make u rich...thank God for promos

You can buy that coffee at West Seattle Thriftway if you like it. I've tried it.

Maybe you could get a promo camera stand so you do not have to hunch over ??? LOL I love promo items and in my radio days I would get a bunch of cool stuff. Also when I was a GM of a music store in the 90s I get all kinds of promos stuff. Oh WOW, Posters? Oh man if you have any Led Zeppelin related posters or items lets talk. That 8-track promo Beatles is so cool!! Pretty cool you still get promo copies due to the size of your YT channel. I don't get why people are annoyed by it though. Enjoyed the photos the Doobie Brother sunglasses awesome that the stuff I love sad that they don't survive due to size or just stores would throw out after promotion.

Jealous is as jealous does…

Of message but I have just received the Rhino CSN reissue ( in UK) and a/b’d it against my original - I brought new in the early 70’s - the original is better by a country mile!

Got a bunch of Capitol Record hole punch records from the record company just because I wrote record reviews for my high school newspaper in the early 70's. Probably one of the few writers of the paper that received any compensation. Only way my reviews were influenced was that I had an actual copy to review so they did receive some exposure but only in a school paper. Never got anything when I later DJ'd on my college radio station. In fact their library was so pathetic I usually had to play my own records. Was reprimanded when I failed to block out a John Lennon curse on time.

As records increase in price, especially the many remaster series, I can imagine that most of us could never afford to buy all these records. Would you want to rely on record company staff promotions? Life requires compromises! Mazzy reviews records with years of experience and a genuine love of the music! Mazzy spends hours reviewing records that I neither have the time or money to hear. With Mazzy’s help I make wise decisions on the few records I can afford to buy!

Capitol Records destroyed Klaatu’s career with the Beatles nonsense. I bought a ton of illegal promos at my local record store in the 1970s. They would cover or cut out the promo stamps.

In today’s Luxury world they call these Ambassadors.

Damn. That Emmy Lou Harris promo is still doing its job! I had a pinto too! Bummer when a promo does not have a white label.

Payola came back in a big way in the 90s and 00s and there was a big scandal in that era as well. Regardless though, yah, promo media and payola are very very different things and people getting pissed off that you or anyone else receives them is ridiculous.

My hometown in Ohio had a college radio station, and my friends and I would hang out on campus. One day we found a bunch of records in a dumpster behind the radio station - only to discover they had white labels! We thought it was kind a bummer... But I kept a few anyway. If only we knew!

Publishers and authors dispense free books to book reviewers as part of their promotion/marketing budget. No crime conducting routine business. Gotta grease the right palms. Nothing slides through without mutually beneficial lubrication.

This is my crack

Ahhh the good ol' music record days...😊 (Promos don't bother me, nor on who gets them ...to promote.)

Mazzini, do you remember Banana Records in Palo Alto? The big box.

I don't know, Mazzy. Someone might have listened to that Beyonce record because you mentioned it. There's clearly no direct quid pro quo and, hence, no payola. It doesn't seem like Mazzy is soliciting freebies, either.

Salmon, caught and smoked by my good friend Dave on the Kenai peninsula Alaska. I am a coffee snob and i think Kaladi is some of the best in the world, and i have had coffee in many place of the world. I hope it is also up to your standards. Neil Young was Fu##.in Fantastice, You shoulda ! Air travel is a thing now.

Wow! Free coffee. Awesome. I love seeing the old and new promos you have and hearing about the history behind them. It's great to see you still have that John Lennon jacket. Take care.

I've never cared if you were paid or given free albums. I watch your videos because it's a musical lover talking to other music lovers, what kind of world have we become when people find harm in that?

Grease the skids

Interesting topic.

🎯

Sometimes promos sound better because they’re the first run of the stamper

Careful now... I don't know if that ol' heart of yours can take anything as exciting as Jethro Tull or God forbid Kraftwerk! Better play it safe and stay with your usual Americana, Birds, and Graham Parsons...

Records aren’t cheap, getting them for free saves that person money. That person could also end up trading those or selling them. Which again saves them money or makes them money. So technically not getting paid but…. I just always assumed channels like this one or the 33 guy from Canada or the blonde lady in front of her fireplace were getting the things they talk about for free. Kind of like the old infomercials that use to play late at night on TV.

Promos are part of the music industry. Nothing wrong with it. There is nothing wrong with you accepting free records but you must realize that puts you in the position of being part of the machine. One of your last videos was 8 new releases. It is a normal response for viewers to wonder if you got those records free.

You are an influencer. I get it. I watch senior women who are influencers. Do I buy all the things they promote? Of course not. Do I buy or even like every album you talk about? Heck no. But there are many times I want to know an opinion so I can make my own decision about how and when to spend my money. I don't understand what the negative minded people are talking about. Jealousy? Oh yeah. They won't walk the walk themselves but have no problem expressing their opinion.

I've been in the radio biz for many decades. Record labels send CD's and LP's to stations hoping to get their artist latest song added to rotation. Label reps would call and ask "are you playing _______ new single?" Back then, radio was an "influencer." Nowadays, it's You Tubers. So, it only makes sense for labels to send product to content providers with a decent following. Mazzy and others are filling that void. It takes a lot of time and work to build a brand and Mazzy has done that. You can do it too! PS - (Mazzy) You my friend, have lost a lot of hair.

I never understood the fascination for promo copies of records or why collectors will pay more for a promo copy The only difference is a white label really I guess that’s the attraction but I’ve seen promo copies in dollar pins

Influencer or just Interesting?

As long as you are up front about it, I see no reason to criticize discussing records you receive for free. That said, assuming you aren't returning them after the review, you are getting a thing of value at no cost so it is pretty clearly equivalent to payment in my opinion. The only time I remember actually being put off was when the Noble Records guy did an "unboxing" of a 57 LP box set that cost $1,600 and never explicitly stated in the video that he got it for free.

Funny these trolls. If anyone is going to get free records it's you. Not some bum playing records on their crossley player in their mum's spare room. Lap it up mazzy you deserve anything you get gifted!

Hi Mazzy. Why can't some folk just enjoy your channel for what it is? i will be honest, I really don't care where you get the records you talk about from. Yeah I like seeing some of the local record shops you visit but as far as the actual music and artists you talk about I don't care whether you buy the music or Martians deposit them in your garden under cover of night to facilitate a forth coming invasion. It's the music (alien) stupid..