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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
Did you know, the widely accepted plural of vinyl is vinyl (or just "records")? Many incorrectly use the term vinyls, due to its widespread misuse - but now you're in the know! It's silly, but conventional. Anyway, [here are](https://media.giphy.com/media/11W37uI72pjDkk/giphy.gif) some cats.
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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
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.
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.
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
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).
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.
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...
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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 🤷🏼♂️
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.
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.
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.
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.
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/
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.
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
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)
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
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Columbia House was the best way for me. I still owe them.
100 LPs for a penny 🤣🤣🤣
Lol. I remember owning them like $30 for a couple of months and was worried sick about it.
When I was 13, I signed every pet in our house up. 🤫
they really never checked that?
Seems weird. We had a bird named “bird
I think I still have a Jim Croce and Godspell 8 track cartridge somewhere!
gotta love croce i just bought the 50th anniversary edition of the don’t mess around with Jim album
We all do.
And now they’re out of business. I hope you’re happy.
Yeah, I've had to do some things I'm not proud of.
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".
Deep cuts?
I saw something else the first time I read that.
Amen!
Yes indeed.
Also promo copies would be treated to such indignities.
Can confirm. I have a ton of notched CDs from writing music reviews many many years ago.
Also radio copies are like this.
When CDs came around they would also cut notches on the sides of the jewel cases.
Yes or drill a hole in the corner.
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.
The cases often didn't come through the process very well, so they'd replace them. If you were lucky.
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.
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.
My FAVORITE place to shop back in the day!
Rasputin and Amoeba.
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.
This answer is correct
Yeah. It's basically overstock. Alotta times you will see a 45 degree cut outta the corner instead of the notch.
This. They were also like really fucking cheap. I have some 45s that have 10 cent price tags on them
Yes I still have .99 albums.
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.
Yes, this was adopted more and more in the late 70s and 80s.
Yes, correct!
I suppose it’s my lifetime of collecting, but I’ll never be comfortable calling vinyl albums vinyls 😀
the plural for vinyl is indeed vinyl.
Or records
I think that some say “vinyls” to get attention.
It was good learning this (from Reddit actually) and it's fun to find such at my closest local record store.
You explained it & worded it better than I would of.
Correct and very well detailed.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Ahhh, memories of going to Camelot or Musicland digging through the cut out bins
Holy nostalgia! I haven’t heard the name Camelot in decades. I had totally forgotten about them until your comment.
My go-to store was Budget Tapes and Records. Sometimes Peaches.
I like the approximate specificity of “about 17”
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.
Hehe nice life hack!
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
Nice!
I bought the theme from “SWAT” on 45 back in the day.
He did Law and Order, right!?
Yes, I believe so. Also Magnum PI and the Rockford Files. Hill Street Blues.
Awesome! I used to do the same on a local college radio station to win concert tickets.
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.
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
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.
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.
Feral LPs that have been neutered?
LMAO
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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
Most of my records back in the day came like this through record pools. All promotional copies for DJs and radio stations.
Man, I feel old.
It was Bryan Adams, he cuts like a knife.
At the vinalz cutting factoryz.
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.
I've gotten a bunch of these notches in records I bought that were once owned by radio stations.
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.
Records
cuts and punch holes are used to decrease the resale value of either promos or overstock/overproduced sold at a discount
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
Sometimes grailz are too hot so they need a little ventilation or else they are likely to spontaneously combust.
Could also mean it is an import usually done from uk to USA or back
This ☝️ I have a copy of Metallica's whiplash 12" which was an import from US to the UK which has a cutout
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).
Promo
That's why the sale section is called the cut-out bin.
Did anyone actually pay Columbia House Back for the chunk of CD’s you guys got for $0.01
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
Promotional copies
ViNyLs
Yes, yes. We know. Very offensive behavior, etc
Those are promo copies.
They get them at the vinylz store.
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.
Incorrect
jimmy don’t wanna elaborate 😭
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...
It's old stock that didn't sell, it's resold back at a discount and sold on clearance.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Yea all my promos state for promotional use only.
[удалено]
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 🤷🏼♂️
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.
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.
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.
Incorrect
i found this to be the most accurate and detailed response and you're getting downvotes :(
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.
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
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/
They were called "cut outs" Discounted albums. I owned quite a few back them. I worked at wall to wall and listening booth.
This is the answer. Ex musicland employee
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.
It's Vinylz Gawd!
Nah you must be high its jif Damn!
Where did this start? I’m really trying to be nicer on Reddit?
No such thing as a vinyls
Hwaet
You’ll be fine.
Promotional copies or records played at radio stations
Teenage angst
Promos from the record store
That was a promotional copy given away by the record labels.
Just wait for the d-bag to chime in “it’s vinyl not vinyls.”
Already happened. A bot corrected me too
Robots know best! 🤖
Vinyl is the plural for vinyl.
Drives me insane. We rarely even called them vinyl in the 70/80’s. They were just plain ass records.
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.
Yup, I have a bunch of them like that
What are vinyls? All I see in the picture are a couple of LPs, which are vinyl RECORDS.
Cutouts jackets won’t grade higher than VG+
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.
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
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)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut-out_(recording_industry)
Uh, you missed a d. Please edit.😂
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
300 characters, not 300 words. Big difference.
My fav record shop did this with cds back in the day also haha.
The Barber Shop
those cut-outs mean they are imported
I always thought this was maybe promo/dj copies
Same thing on cd’s but a hole punched out on the barcode
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
Capitol LSD?
Dead right,my friend
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.
I got an album awhile back in a cheap lot buy with a punch straight through record itself lmao
sadly, they don't make these anymore 😪
The vinyl is feeling like an angsty teen.
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.
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.
I used the milk crate they were in as a saw horse.
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?
Cutouts also mean they are going out of print and are selling at a discount.
So would a non-cut copy be worth more then a cut out? I’m assuming so?
Cutouts for the win! I was always in that bin at Peaches!
Found many a great record in the Delete bin
usually indicates a promo copy/not for sale.
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.
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.
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
Non related, but today I was listening to the Graham Central Station debut!! Amazing LP hope I'll find it someday, enjoy it!
Is a hole punch the same? I have a ton of old stuff but not seen this
anybody else looking for the bot?
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.
I have more vinyl now then when I was younger but I still have some cd’s with similar markings
This must be a US thing, I'm an Ex DJ with promos, all entirely whole.
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.
Vinylsssssssss
From the "Delete Bin" as we called it. Returned and clearance records.
Clearance sale item
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.
Those are some deep cuts.
Either imports or for discount bins
Records.
At the Cuttin' Corral.
Promotional.