About Promo Only
Promo Only, Inc.
Promo Only, Inc. began modestly enough in 1992 as a result of DJs Jim Robinson and Pete Werner's frustration at the music industry's snail-like response to the looming digital age. They weren't alone: A nation of DJs waited by their new and largely unused CD players, united in their frustration with the almost total lack of content available on CD.
Having already set up a small, successful remix studio, Werner and Robinson were better equipped than most to meet the challenge. Spurred on by the dust settling on their state-of-the-art Technics SL-P1300 CD players, Robinson and Werner began trading on the major record label contacts Werner's position as Billboard reporting DJ brought and set about making their own compilation CDs.
That first issue, dubbed Promo Only (and later renamed 'Promo Only Club'), made its debut in June 1992 as the first monthly music service available to music professionals to feature the latest 12" Dance mixes on CD.
Eager to offer a similar solution to the top 40 market, Werner and Robinson quickly went about expanding their line of products to include a monthly compilation of the latest top 40 releases; dubbed Promo Only Radio, it combined the best of pop, dance, urban and rock Top 40 releases.
Other series soon followed: Urban Radio, Country Radio and Modern Rock Radio quickly established themselves -- and Promo Only -- as radio station and DJ favorites.
With the additions of the Rhythm Radio and Rhythm Club series in November 1997, Robinson and Werner began what was to be a series of changes -- all geared towards promoting a greater selection of music.
It was here that Promo Only began dividing its line of CDs into two categories, Radio and Club -- a practice that continues to this day. Promo Only Club and Promo Only Radio became Mainstream Club and Mainstream Radio, respectively, and subscribers were able to enjoy the clear differences that separated the two formats: Radio stations were able to features the short, 'clean' edits the new Radio series provided; Club DJs were given ample access to the extended and often exclusive 12" dance and rhythm-crossover mixes that had for so long eluded them.
1997 also saw the creation of Promo Only Canada. With its programming geared specifically for Canadian audiences (and fully licensed by the AVLA) Promo Only's Canadian division quickly became as popular as its U.S. counterpart.
The following year saw Promo Only expand into the United Kingdom with the formation of its London affiliate, Promo Only Ltd.
Always swift to meet any music trend that shows itself to be of substance and duration, 1999 saw Promo Only begin its third CD series. Today, the Promo Only Latin Series has evolved into three distinct categories: Tropical, Regional and, most recently, Pop Latin.
Werner and Robinson were equally quick to see that music video was a medium waiting to be properly developed. Seizing the opportunity to buy out long-time friend Wolf Zimmerman (of Wolfram Video) when he announced his retirement, the pair brought the entire Wolfram staff and 40,000-plus music video library (the world's second largest music video library) to their Orlando-based operation and began production in late 1999.
With the foresight Robinson and Werner have always demonstrated, Promo Only quickly began offering a series of enhanced music videos priced within the means of the average DJ and available for the first time via the digital medium of DVD.
Today the Promo Only line of music video has reached eight monthly series - Hot Video, Dance Mix Video, Pop Mix Video, Club Video, Country Video, Latin Video, Urban Video and Modern Rock Video.
Additional mergers, most notably with Launch NVS (formerly National Video Service), allow Promo Only to boast the largest in-house music video library in the nation, a distinction it has parlayed into its Background Music Division (serving the retail & hospitality industry with custom in-house audio and video); and its Monster Mix music video show, a unique non-stop music video program produced entirely by Promo Only that airs daily on MTV2.
More recently, 2004 has seen Promo Only, along with technology partner, Destiny Media Technologies Inc., enter into an agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG) to securely distribute UMG's new audio releases to US radio stations via the Promo Only MPE System.
As for whatever else the future may hold, rest assured that Promo Only, the nation's leading provider of promotional content, will remain at the forefront of innovation, redefining music and music video every step of the way.
Promo Only, Inc.
257 S. Lake Destiny Dr.
Orlando, FL USA 32810
407-331-3600 (phone)
407-331-6400 (fax)
Website: www.promoonly.com