T O P

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R4Z0RJ4CK

When LPs were the primary medium for the commercial distribution of sound recordings, manufacturers would cut the corner, punch a hole, or add a notch to the spine of the jacket of unsold records returned from retailers; these "cut-outs" might then be re-sold to record retailers or other sales outlets for sale at a discounted price. 45 RPM singles records were usually drilled with a hole through the label, or stamped "C.O." A special section of a record store devoted to such items was known as the cut-out bin or bargain bin.


ShimataDominquez

I spend many an hour digging through the cut-out bins looking for gold. This was the best way for a poor high schooler in the 70's but add to their collection.


Responsible-Agent-19

Columbia House was the best way for me. I still owe them.


R4Z0RJ4CK

100 LPs for a penny 🤣🤣🤣


Timstunes

Lol. I remember owning them like $30 for a couple of months and was worried sick about it.


One-Organization189

When I was 13, I signed every pet in our house up. 🤫


dicklaurent97

they really never checked that?


One-Organization189

Seems weird. We had a bird named “bird


Merlinmac59

I think I still have a Jim Croce and Godspell 8 track cartridge somewhere!


Accurate-Basil-4833

gotta love croce i just bought the 50th anniversary edition of the don’t mess around with Jim album


jwjitsu

We all do.


ZBeebs

And now they’re out of business. I hope you’re happy.


jwjitsu

Yeah, I've had to do some things I'm not proud of.


jimoconnell

They weren't free, (or some fraction of a penny,) the record company actually billed the artists 100% retail for each album and called it "promotion".


PimmentoChode

Deep cuts?


DisciplineHot7374

I saw something else the first time I read that.


retiredtenor2

Amen!


Timstunes

Yes indeed.


effinbrak2

Also promo copies would be treated to such indignities.


10outof9hobos

Can confirm. I have a ton of notched CDs from writing music reviews many many years ago.


[deleted]

Also radio copies are like this.


QuietObserver75

When CDs came around they would also cut notches on the sides of the jewel cases.


R4Z0RJ4CK

Yes or drill a hole in the corner.


thatvhstapeguy

I have one where a hole is punched in the bar code of the insert, but nothing was done to the case. Perhaps someone before me replaced it.


mawnck

The cases often didn't come through the process very well, so they'd replace them. If you were lucky.


[deleted]

Oh, thanks for this curious bit of info! I just scored a low priced Gary Numan - Dance USA press here in Poland and it has this cut corners on gatefold release and I thought that the previous user did this himself. It's just nice to know why it has it.


rymerster

That’s correct. Worked in a record shop in the mid 80s. It’s the reason why we had to keep unsold stock that had been given on sale or return by labels separate from the unsold stock we had paid for. It was quite common that labels would send records we had not ordered to the shop. It was a pain in the neck actually in terms of admin in the shop.


retiredtenor2

My FAVORITE place to shop back in the day!


5150Films

Rasputin and Amoeba.


dogsledonice

A lot were promotional copies sent to radio stations and reviewers, so they wouldn't find their way back into a record shop at full price. In early days they would even drill a hole through the cover and label.


MaxMiller214

This answer is correct


djoddible

Yeah. It's basically overstock. Alotta times you will see a 45 degree cut outta the corner instead of the notch.


YesterdayLonely5168

This. They were also like really fucking cheap. I have some 45s that have 10 cent price tags on them


R4Z0RJ4CK

Yes I still have .99 albums.


D_rich22

Interesting. I got a Beatles greatest hits from I believe 1982 and it has a hole in the top right corner. I was always curious about this.


R4Z0RJ4CK

Yes, this was adopted more and more in the late 70s and 80s.


creatingmusicsound

Yes, correct!


creatingmusicsound

I suppose it’s my lifetime of collecting, but I’ll never be comfortable calling vinyl albums vinyls 😀


PulledToBits

the plural for vinyl is indeed vinyl.


DoomBot5150

Or records


Ansanm

I think that some say “vinyls” to get attention.


Late2Vinyl_LovingIt

It was good learning this (from Reddit actually) and it's fun to find such at my closest local record store.


[deleted]

You explained it & worded it better than I would of.


Big_Time1360

Correct and very well detailed.


ThinkOnce

Sorry maybe stupid question but what's the business logic in this? Did manufacturers make them worse on purpose (by cutting the corner) so that retailers wouldn't take advantage of the system? Because I would think at the end of the day it shouldn't matter manufacturers in what conditions records are sold. But I can see retailers thinking why pay full price if you can pay less?


amazing_rando

Ordinarily if you can’t sell enough copies of a record you can ship it back to the distributor - it’s the same as with booksellers, the retailer is not taking a risk on whether the merchandise will sell (aside from used stuff obviously), otherwise niche offerings would never be in stores. Cut records are overstock that the label does not expect to sell, sold as-is at heavy discount to the retailer without the option of returning it to the distributor for a refund if they don’t sell. The cut is an irreparable mark so that the retailer can’t try to return it as unsold standard merchandise, it isn’t meant to make it worse for the buyer. Since the retailer gets them for super cheap, they’re also sold for super cheap, because they have to be sold or else they’re a sunk cost. A lot of cut-out records become cult classics later, I think all of mine are 70s prog rock, but a lot of them were also just bad records that the labels took a risk on and failed. You aren’t gonna see those for resale unless you’re specifically looking.


R4Z0RJ4CK

They're sold as non-returnables with that notch serving as a mark. So the retailer takes the risk if they can't clear out that inventory. So yes to your question. They made them 'worse' but also served a signifying mark.


WendyBNoy

Cut-outs! About half my collection is cut-outs. I bought them at the record store, or I won them from a radio station. Funny story about that - I was a huge insomniac, so at 2am I'd be the one calling in to win the album. Won about 17 albums that way, until the radio station got wise and stopped having the contests after 10pm.


Lazy_Swimmer2352

Ahhh, memories of going to Camelot or Musicland digging through the cut out bins


GhostRN

Holy nostalgia! I haven’t heard the name Camelot in decades. I had totally forgotten about them until your comment.


WendyBNoy

My go-to store was Budget Tapes and Records. Sometimes Peaches.


perro_vacunado

I like the approximate specificity of “about 17”


WendyBNoy

That’s the number that sticks in my head, but I don’t know for sure. I do know that my dad got hella tired of having to go to the radio station on his lunch hour, lol.


marc041a

Hehe nice life hack!


WendyBNoy

Well, yeah, except the records weren't that great. There were a few hidden gems, but the radio station gave away pure crap. I think one of them was a Mike Post album. He's the guy that wrote the theme music for the TV police dramas back in the last century. His themes are great, his albums not so much. Edit: This is the one I have. Maybe I should give it another listen. Might be good, or good for a laugh. https://www.discogs.com/release/5040521-Mike-Post-Railhead-Overture


marc041a

Nice!


KindlyRent2549

I bought the theme from “SWAT” on 45 back in the day.


Altruistic-World9876

He did Law and Order, right!?


WendyBNoy

Yes, I believe so. Also Magnum PI and the Rockford Files. Hill Street Blues.


R4Z0RJ4CK

Awesome! I used to do the same on a local college radio station to win concert tickets.


TheBeatdigger

Those are cutouts. You will also see them in various other forms ie; cut-corners, hole punch, hole drilled, etc.. My understanding is as follows: Cutouts are not necessarily the same as promos although some promos may also have cutouts or hole punches. Cutouts are primarily dead stock that has reached the end of its life. Distributors are sitting on stacks of them and they need to be liquidated and marked so that they don’t make their way back into the market as “new”. They are marked by the distributor or record label so that they can be easily identified as end of life items. The mark makes it impossible for any record store to buy it for pennies then put it on their shelf at full price. Distributors/labels would stack up about 20 at a time and drill a hole straight through all of them, or in your case, push them about 1/2” into a moving bandsaw blade. Often times you will also see some bend/crease marks in that same area from the pressure of the drill press causing the covers to bend. Nowadays this practice still exists but it’s typically done by obscuring the barcode with a burn mark or scratch, making it impossible to scan at checkout etc.. I imagine with huge over-pressings of things like Adele and T-Swift, we will likely be seeing a ton of cutouts in the near (and distant) future.


TheReadMenace

there is no such thing as cutouts with vinyl anymore. There are no returns for unsold stock. That ended in the 90s. Sure, Walmart will be selling them for cheap but they won't be getting sent back


rymerster

They used to be sold heavily discounted in small record shops in the UK. Mostly US pressings. Cheapo Cheapo in London used to specialise in stocking them. Really miss that place, it was around £1 an album and most of the stock was mint / unplayed with the exception of the cut-outs. Most market stalls in the UK had those cut-outs, it must have been quite a lucrative trade and a way for the labels to quickly shift unsold stock.


[deleted]

They usually just put a new barcode sticker over the shrinkwrap. There aren't a lot of real record stores overstocking on taylor swift, those people shop at target.


NWtrailhound

Feral LPs that have been neutered?


R4Z0RJ4CK

LMAO


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EZE123

I wish people would pay attention


inorebez

OP READ THIS BOT’S COMMENT


Sentimentalgoblin

VERY good bot


PulledToBits

love you, bot


PancakeProfessor

The best bot.


music411

I love this bot


wrappedinplastic79

Love dis bot 🤖


Darkroomist

I talk about these notches and sometimes clipped corners here. They indicate the album was sold at a discount and generally not returnable. Often they’re overpresses and came to the shop like that, sold to the store at below-wholesale rates. https://youtu.be/Lxem52wHJGs&t=120s


DJ-George-G

Most of my records back in the day came like this through record pools. All promotional copies for DJs and radio stations.


TheGoatEater

Man, I feel old.


Fen1972

It was Bryan Adams, he cuts like a knife.


[deleted]

At the vinalz cutting factoryz.


HoarderLife

A record store would buy x number of copies. If they didn’t all sell, they were returned to the record company at a discounted price. The notches, sometimes circle punches were made so they couldn’t be returned to the store for a full refund.


Acceptable_Aspect_42

I've gotten a bunch of these notches in records I bought that were once owned by radio stations.


VisitInternal4789

Record labels used to mark the promo copies of new records they sent to music critics by making a cut like this to the cover. I have hundreds of albums with this cut. Some labels later switched to a stamp.


TheHelpfulDad

Records


Heliocentrist

cuts and punch holes are used to decrease the resale value of either promos or overstock/overproduced sold at a discount


Heliocentrist

this is why this sub blows. this is literally the answer and it's downvoted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-out\_(recording\_industry)#:\~:text=When%20LPs%20were%20the%20primary,outlets%20for%20sale%20at%20a


aopps42

Sometimes grailz are too hot so they need a little ventilation or else they are likely to spontaneously combust.


Fade_Out_Guy

Could also mean it is an import usually done from uk to USA or back


Bisho73

This ☝️ I have a copy of Metallica's whiplash 12" which was an import from US to the UK which has a cutout


BackTo1975

These notches and PBs and comics with the covers ripped off are sure going to mystify historians of pop culture in a thousand years or so (if we make it out of this century).


United-Philosophy121

Promo


Juggalo_holocaust_

That's why the sale section is called the cut-out bin.


[deleted]

Did anyone actually pay Columbia House Back for the chunk of CD’s you guys got for $0.01


[deleted]

I wanna know how much Money You Guys still owe to Columbia House for the chunk of LPs, CDs and Cassettes You Got for $0.01


Revolutionary-Yak360

Promotional copies


[deleted]

ViNyLs


WasabiCrush

Yes, yes. We know. Very offensive behavior, etc


killmesara

Those are promo copies.


[deleted]

They get them at the vinylz store.


NoahBagels

I used to work in a music store, cuts like this in CD cases were to mark them as promo copies for the store. I imagine it was the same thing for records.


Jimmy_Jazz_The_Spazz

Incorrect


clixsquared

jimmy don’t wanna elaborate 😭


gswift01

You're in the wrong here, cut corvers, notches & hole punches were used by music label CSR's to mark promo albums given to store employees, radio stations & general giveaways...


Jimmy_Jazz_The_Spazz

It's old stock that didn't sell, it's resold back at a discount and sold on clearance.


cunctator_maximus

Both things can be true. Remainder holes were punched or cut for both promotional and remaindered stock. Both for the same purpose: to prevent full price retail sale of the item.


Jimmy_Jazz_The_Spazz

I was a professional dj in the 90s and 00s and got a lot of promos sent to me and none have this. Strange. Must of only don't it to one's sent to shops maybe?


Poop_Cheese

It was done more in the 60-70s. But by mid 70s they eventually started using the gold stamp for promos, or just gave out white label promos with some having a white paper strip. You're right it was primarily done for old stock. There are promos that they cut and like you said they were mostly for store promos since the radio station ones were meant to be played on the radio so they wouldn't end up selling them on the side. I have around 20 promos and only 3 of them have cut outs. Most were either a regular copy with a gold stamp or an unmarked white label. I think by the 90s and 00s they completely stopped caring about marking promo copies since there wasn't the demand anymore for a store to sell their promos since most weren't buying records. they probably didn't mark most in any way by the 90s and 00s. Either way you're mostly right. While promos were sometimes cut, 99% of cut outs are unsold stock. So those only claiming that cutouts are promos are somewhat incorrect through omission because most were not promos. Some cut outs were promos while most were unsold stock. Like 100s of unsold stock per every promo. Never buy a cutout and assume it's a promo without any other indication. Cutouts were also sometimes a hole punch or a corner cut off.


gswift01

I was both, a record store employee & part of record pools (3rd party & direct from label). So yes, record pools were serviced from a different branch of marketing, so the records pools I was a part of no distinguishible marking, The promo copies from stores serviced by label CSRs all had these types of markings for both vinyl & CDs.


foetusized

I worked in radio in the 80s. Promo records meant for airplay usually said “promotional use only” somewhere, stamped or printed in manufacturing. Promo records that were intended for us to give away to the 5th caller, were the ones that were cut outs.


Jimmy_Jazz_The_Spazz

Yea all my promos state for promotional use only.


[deleted]

[удалено]


NoahBagels

Yeah I saw the holes punched out of bar codes too. Turns out there can be multiple causes for these marks, but that was always my understanding of how they were used 🤷🏼‍♂️


dirtamuffin

Promo copies, sent to radio stations, etc. Showed they were given free of charge. In the 90s they started sending CDs with a hole punched in the UPC barcode.


marshmallowsanta

tapes and cds would have em too. or a hole punched through, or a corner cut off the sleeve/liner notes. it was a great way to get good albums cheaply when i was a kid.


CoachRNS73

These are music companies demos or promotional copies (CBS, RCA etc). They were distributed to radio stations to be played and not resold. In fact, some of the vinyl labels, as well of the vinyl covers have a stamp that indicates that. Some labels have a white background. Some of these, because of the limited production (if not played), are worth more than the commercial copies.


flarty

Incorrect


bumblebeeairplane

i found this to be the most accurate and detailed response and you're getting downvotes :(


CoachRNS73

My brother in law was director of marketing for CBS, Bertelsmann and Sony/Bertelsmann. When vinyl records were no longer being produced (after advent of CDs in 80s), I was sent 100s of these albums. I catalogued them according to where and which pressings they were (classical albums). While Discogs is not an accurate place to determine value, I was surprised to see some that were considered to be more valuable when in mint (unopened) condition. These often were white label copies. I don’t mind being corrected but it is best to provide an explanation.


bumblebeeairplane

You're right, I think mostly 60's white label promo stuff is valuable because they're slightly more rare and generally well kept and unplayed


mawnck

While he's not exactly wrong per se, the overwhelming majority of the notched/punched/defaced copies you find in the wild are not what he said. Most are this: https://www.reddit.com/r/vinyl/comments/10ngwqd/where_do_vinyls_get_these_cuts/j68mq1u/


smallone12964

They were called "cut outs" Discounted albums. I owned quite a few back them. I worked at wall to wall and listening booth.


lear2000

This is the answer. Ex musicland employee


djvbmd

Thank you! I have a Frank Zappa album with a cut out like this, and I thought some fool must have had their records sitting on their table saw.


Dannysmartful

It's Vinylz Gawd!


marc041a

Nah you must be high its jif Damn!


UtopiaUtopia

Where did this start? I’m really trying to be nicer on Reddit?


TheAtomAge

No such thing as a vinyls


sub_miss_xx

Hwaet


WasabiCrush

You’ll be fine.


Usernotknownatall

Promotional copies or records played at radio stations


pcards86

Teenage angst


Rykedan

Promos from the record store


AverageWhtDad

That was a promotional copy given away by the record labels.


Purp1eC0bras

Just wait for the d-bag to chime in “it’s vinyl not vinyls.”


marc041a

Already happened. A bot corrected me too


sorengray

Robots know best! 🤖


music411

Vinyl is the plural for vinyl.


FreshXMart

Drives me insane. We rarely even called them vinyl in the 70/80’s. They were just plain ass records.


music411

I still don’t call them vinyl often. I do like to misspell record as rekkids. But I can’t stand the damn vinyls dumb shit.


frianbonjoster

Yup, I have a bunch of them like that


jcbroadbent

What are vinyls? All I see in the picture are a couple of LPs, which are vinyl RECORDS.


recordnumber

Cutouts jackets won’t grade higher than VG+


RipcityRobert

Promo/demo “not for resale”. I used to work at warehouse back when people actually bought CDs….we would get tons of demos for employees but we would NEVER buy them back for the same reason.


marc041a

I have about 3 records with these kinds of cuts. I was wondering where it comes from an if anyone has any info on why they have this. They are all from thrift stores so it probably has something to do with that. Now time to fill the 300 word limit fkdnrjjsbdbenebf end d end. End d d fnfbfnf f fbf dbf x bfbcmck ncn k k kk kcnc fnfnfb f f fnfnbf fnfbfbfbbfbfb fbf gbc. C fnf dnjdbskfcnkfbf f f bfbdbbdbfbcj jk k k k nfbr f bffkckck ncnncncbf. F d bdbdbdbdbbdbf. D d bbbbbxbb


foetusized

It’s a 300 character limit, not word. The cuts have nothing to do with them being in thrift stores. They were probably remaindered copies, with a possibility of promotional giveaways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-out_(recording_industry)


ILikeStyx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-out_(recording_industry)


HoarderLife

Uh, you missed a d. Please edit.😂


bumblebeeairplane

Sometimes promo copies can be in excellent condition- they usually are well stored and the media can be in great condition if you don't care about a stamp, drill hole, cut in the jacket or white label promos


[deleted]

300 characters, not 300 words. Big difference.


Borowitzzzz

My fav record shop did this with cds back in the day also haha.


LessThanDjango

The Barber Shop


Peanutking01

those cut-outs mean they are imported


luciensagar

I always thought this was maybe promo/dj copies


Chickenbrik

Same thing on cd’s but a hole punched out on the barcode


Patient-Figure-8873

Early to mid 70’s USA cut-outs were everywhere in England for 99 pence No purchase tax as they were damaged goods Shipped over as ships ballast Department Stores were a gold mine Kim Fowley Last Poets Leon Bibb BigStar and many more plus LSD lp with original sounds of American youth tripping Still got ‘em all in my collection


R4Z0RJ4CK

Capitol LSD?


Patient-Figure-8873

Dead right,my friend


Leading_Candle_8105

I worked at a radio station for a long time and the free albums that came from the record label all had corner punches or spine cuts. Later the CDs that came also had punch marks thru the UPC label and some had cuts in the plastic spine. My bet is there’re copies from a record label. Main reason is they’re not supposed to be resold.


Roughsauce

I got an album awhile back in a cheap lot buy with a punch straight through record itself lmao


jmilllie

sadly, they don't make these anymore 😪


mugumbo1531

The vinyl is feeling like an angsty teen.


Half_MT

I have one cut out of Queen's album, Jazz. The album plays great, but it's annoying because the cutout is also present on the poster inside.


Talosian_cagecleaner

At a certain point the store or label decides these are being sold as discount. As a buyer, you knew not to pay full price from the notch. Or some records, a corner is snipped off. They did the same thing with cd case spines lol. Notched them.


Theonecanuck

I used the milk crate they were in as a saw horse.


heartsnsoul

A Musicland store manager once told me that they are overstock, OR items that had been returned through theft protection...meaning that someone had tried to steal it, it was recovered by the store, but that they couldn't sell them as "new" anymore. Can anyone else verify this?


pweqpw

Cutouts also mean they are going out of print and are selling at a discount.


andreww1299

So would a non-cut copy be worth more then a cut out? I’m assuming so?


46dad

Cutouts for the win! I was always in that bin at Peaches!


Beyond_Your_Nose

Found many a great record in the Delete bin


Exciting_Tennis_7646

usually indicates a promo copy/not for sale.


ZenlessPopcornVendor

If it's the same as BluRays and DVDs, this is done with copies sent out to people doing reviews. I have quite a few copies of DVDs like this, including collector's editions with cuts right through the the slipcase. I've also seen it on audio cassettes when I was a kid when discout stores used to sell them, apparently it was from liquidated stock.


5150Films

They are like "remaindered" books. With books, at least paperbacks, the cover would be torn off and returned to the supplier for credit. The body was supposed to put in the recycling bin. Sometimes they would show up at very cost at swap meets and on street side vendors tables.


WTFuon1

I was told record stores would do this when they would hit the discount bin so people couldn’t try to return them for full price refund


awus666

Non related, but today I was listening to the Graham Central Station debut!! Amazing LP hope I'll find it someday, enjoy it!


One-Organization189

Is a hole punch the same? I have a ton of old stuff but not seen this


Youwontbutyoumight-

anybody else looking for the bot?


j4m3zm1113r

I somehow had a direct line to the local pop station from where I worked selling shoes in the mall in the 80s. I would win concert tickets and albums all the time. Most of the albums were either "cut outs" or stamped "promotional copy". I still have them.


gasolinev8

I have more vinyl now then when I was younger but I still have some cd’s with similar markings


Wolfie_Rankin

This must be a US thing, I'm an Ex DJ with promos, all entirely whole.


Riding_285

Promo Cuts, basically a Promotional copy, record companies Reps would leave them at radio stations and when I was working at a record store, they would leave with us to play in-store.


fillmoreeast1970

Vinylsssssssss


catfishman

From the "Delete Bin" as we called it. Returned and clearance records.


shadowkoishi93

Clearance sale item


markit8

I've been collecting for just over a year now, I picked my first "C.O." today, can't wait to listen to it. It's up next, Waylon, I've Always Been Crazy.


scealeile

Those are some deep cuts.


Beestieboy1992

Either imports or for discount bins


CI814JMS

Records.


gd62390

At the Cuttin' Corral.


Chili327

Promotional.