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A promotional recording, or promo, is an audio or video recording distributed for free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as music radio and television stations, and to tastemakers, such as DJs and music journalists, in advance of the release of commercial editions, in the hope that airplay, reviews, and other forms of exposure will result and stimulate the public's interest in the commercial release.

Promos are often distributed in plain packaging, without the text or artwork that appears on the commercial version. Typically a promo is marked with some variation of the following text: "Licensed for promotional use only. Sale is prohibited." It may also state that the promo is still the property of the distributor and is to be returned upon demand." However, it is not illegal to sell promotional recordings,^[1] and recalls of promos are extremely rare and unenforced.^[2]

Because promos are produced in smaller quantity than releases made available to the general public, they are sometimes considered valuable collectors' items. They are never released in record stores.

Promo single[link]

A promo single (short for promotional single) is a single that is made available to radio stations, nightclubs, music publications, and other media outlets by a record label for the express purpose of promoting a forthcoming commercial single or an entirely new album. A song may be released as a promotional single even if no commercial version of the single is available to buy, usually if this is the case it is for the purposes of promoting an entire album. While intended specifically for use by professional disc jockeys and not for resale, they are frequently sought out by music collectors nonetheless.

The promo single is usually recognized by its limited liner notes and cover artwork as well as its unique catalog number (or the occasional lack thereof). Quite often, vinyl records will be issued in a generic cardboard jacket or white paper sleeve while CDs will be issued in a slimline jewel case or cardboard sleeve. CD Packaging companies are now even offering "promotional CD packaging" designed specifically for the purpose.

There may also be promotion-specific terms stamped on the disc or its cover, most notably "For Promotional Use Only."

The advance promo single is furnished to DJs sometimes weeks or months in advance of a domestic release to give record labels an opportunity to build interest in the single and gauge response to the single. Unlike a finished promo single, these are commonly test pressings or white labels and thus are manufactured in limited runs. Traditionally, these promotional copies were supplied to DJs through music pools. Despite the good intention, there has been some dispute within the industry as to if advanced promotion is a good thing or not. Building interest is naturally a good thing, but it may turn out to have the exact reverse effect when interested persons are unable to find a new song in the record stores for quite some time.

Buzz single[link]

In music, a buzz single is a track or promotional song, released by the label (typically) preceding the album's release. The song(s) are released in order to bring attention to an album's release. Buzz singles are not typically issued to radio as promotional singles, however this will not prevent radio stations from playing the songs. Buzz singles are not considered "official" singles, there have been cases where a buzz single has later been released as an album's "official" single. Buzz singles are not always included on an album.

The term "buzz single" is sometimes used by the artists or the record label whose single(s) have performed below expectations. Referring to such singles later as a "buzz singles", regardless of the accuracy of the statement. This has the effect of downplaying the commercial failure of the single and preventing damage to the artist's reputation and the label.

Acetates and test pressings[link]

Before the advent of formats other than vinyl records, a type of promo surfaced known as an "acetate". These records were made of a cheaper and lower quality acetate vinyl. They were generally made in very low quantity and often had hand-written labels. Frequently they were only a test pressing, and thus were called "promo acetate test pressings". In modern usage the term "acetate" or "promo acetate" usually refers to a cheaply manufactured CD-R made up to efficiently promote the product with minimal expense.

Countdown to album release programs[link]

iTunes and other markets distribute songs for a price on a pre-set schedule; such as one a week in a 'Countdown' to the parent album's release. These pre-sales of album tracks are often called 'promotional singles' by many.^[3][4]

Distribution[link]

Radio outlets[link]

Promotional recordings are distributed to commercial AM and FM radio stations for airplay. These singles typically feature just the radio edit of the song, but may also include alternate remix edits, the original album version, or even call-out hooks.

Nightclub outlets[link]

When it comes to electronic dance music, 12-inch records and CDs still remain the more popular media by which promotional recordings may be distributed to DJs in the nightclub industry. These singles typically feature one or more extended remixes (sometimes dubbed a "club mix") of the title track that are not generally available to the public as well as the original extended version, which in many cases is itself club-friendly. In some cases, the disc may have anonymous track labeling or lack labels altogether. Often the corresponding CD may also carry radio edits and other alternate cuts that did not make it onto the 12-inch record itself, in which case the CD is referred to as a maxi-single CD. Promotional recordings may also include digital recordings in mp3, mp4, or wma formats to discourage illegal copying and enable effective recall when the promotional period has expired.

It is not unusual for a promo single to have no commercially available counterpart particularly in those genres that are predominantly oriented to nightclub applications.

Promotional compilations[link]

Many companies currently offer promotional compilations to DJs, radio use and nightclubs alike. The format is growingly on the CD-format, but some companies still offer promotional compilations in vinyl also. Most of the compilations are genre-specific (like most of CD Pools' compilations) but there are also compilations that offer a combination of different genres (like compilations from DMC and Music Factory). Such compilations are normally released monthly. In addition to companies that work internationally, there are also many companies that offer national promotions material in the form of compilations.

Versions in the compilation are usually either radio edits or extended / 12" remixes of the song, depending a bit on the targeted audience. Club scene music is usually in the longer and easier to play format of extended remix, whereas more street targeted music is usually released as radio edits. It normally takes a couple of weeks after the release of the original promo single to be available on promotional compilations. This has the added benefit of having the songs when they're already had some airtime and are thus not the bleeding edge no-one has heard from, but still have usually not been released to the mass markets yet.

Some of the internationally established companies are

• CD Pool (UK)
• DMC (UK)
• Dee Jay Promotions (Sweden)
• Mastermix a.k.a. Music Factory (UK)
• Radio Ventures INC.(US) international radio stations / DJs
• Silver & Black (Ukraine)
• White Noise (UK)

Many fledgling companies are also available offering both well-known and lesser known releases.

Online promotional distribution[link]

Since the advent of broad-bandwidth Internet access and professional tools such as iPool or Haulix, the online promotional distribution of music has been established. Record companies make their music available as audio files and use the Internet as a distribution channel. In contrast to the conventional way of distributing promotional recordings, this kind of promotional distribution is faster and cheaper.

Companies specializing in this type of promotion, such as zipDJ, EatDigital and Potboiler Promotions, have become more prominent in recent times.

See also[link]

• White label

References[link]

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (June 2010)

Lou Fellingham
Lou Fellingham pictured on screens leading worship at New Word Alive, with Phatfish, in 2008 Lou Fellingham pictured on screens leading worship at New Word Alive, with Phatfish, in 2008
Background information
Birth name	Louise Hunt
Born	(1974-05-05) 5 May 1974 (age 38)
Origin	Brighton, England
Genres	Worship Contemporary Christian
Occupations	Worship leader, singer, songwriter
Years active	1994–present
Labels	Kingsway Music
Associated acts	Phatfish, Stuart Townend, Phatfish and Lou Fellingham
Website	Official website

Louise "Lou" Fellingham (née Hunt), (born 5 May 1974), is a Christian worship leader, singer and songwriter from Brighton in East Sussex, England. She is a founding member of the British band Phatfish and has also pursued a solo career.

In 2008, she won a Christian Broadcasting Council (CBC) Award for her album Promised Land, in the category of Best Worship.^[1] Fellingham has worked alongside other Christian artists such as Matt Redman, Graham Kendrick, Tim Hughes and Stuart Townend. She regularly leads worship and performs at different venues around the world. A rendition of Fellingham leading the hymn "In Christ Alone" has had more than four million views on YouTube.^[2]

Personal background[link]

Church of Christ the King in Clarendon Centre at Brighton

Louise (Lou) Fellingham (née Hunt) grew up in the West Sussex village of Turners Hill in England, where she attended the Turners Hill Free Church.^{[citation needed]} In her teens, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, she sang in two local Christian groups, The Turners Hill Mob and 4th Dimension.^{[citation needed]} Both gained local acclaim among the churches and youth groups of mid Sussex. In 1998, she married Nathan Fellingham, the drummer and one of the founding members of Phatfish. Together, they have three children.^{[3] [4]}

The family attends the Church of Christ the King (CCK),^[5] where they are frequently involved in leading worship and musical projects. In particular, Fellingham serves the church by training and managing their 50-member church choir. Nathan's father, David Fellingham has served as one of the elders since 1979.^[6] The church is also home to Terry Virgo, Stuart Townend, Paul Oakley, Martin Smith of Delirious? and other prominent Christian figures. The evangelical church is affiliated with the Newfrontiers neocharismatic church network and is located at the Clarendon Centre near Brighton railway station.

Professional background[link]

Fellingham has been the lead singer of the British Christian band Phatfish for the last 17 years, which has played in worship conferences, concert halls, and music festivals, touring throughout Europe and around the world. She has also performed as a soloist and worship leader and has toured extensively throughout the UK, Canada and the United States.

The various music festivals and worship conferences in which she has participated include the following:

Phatfish and Lou Fellingham[link]

In late 2005, Lou Fellingham began recording her debut solo album Treasure, which was released in January 2006. Fellingham wrote most of the songs on the album, while her husband served as co-writer. The album quickly shot to the number one spot, becoming the best-selling album of 2006 through Cross Rhythms.

In 2006 and early 2007, before work on the next Phatfish studio album started, Fellingham began performing songs from Treasure on a "Stu and Lou" Tour, with Stuart Townend, which took them to various locations around the UK. When Phatfish's Guaranteed was released in July 2007, it received positive reviews and high sales at Christian events. With the success of both Fellingham's Treasure, and Phatfish's Guaranteed, rather than embark on an official Guaranteed tour, Phatfish followed up with a series of one-night shows and a TV appearance on Premier TV, under the banner Phatfish and Lou Fellingham.

In early 2008, the band performed two more Phatfish and Lou Fellingham concerts in connection with Hope 08. The first event was in Brighton, as part of "Soul By The Sea"; the second in Gloucester on March 14. Lou Fellingham led worship at the Kingsway's Children's Ministry conference in January, and the band gigged and led worship at New Word Alive in Wales alongside Stuart Townend. There were five more concerts in 2008; Keswick, Crawley, NEWI, Danbury and Bognor Regis Bible Week.

Since 1994, live appearances by Phatfish had simply been titled Phatfish, but due to the successful release of Lou Fellingham's debut album, along with the appearance of some of her songs in the setlist, her name was incorporated into the title as Phatfish and Lou Fellingham. Fellingham's husband, Nathan described the arrangement during an interview with Adrian Warnock.^[7]

So, we’re out sometimes as Phatfish, sometimes as Lou Fellingham, Lou Fellingham Band, whatever. Sometimes it’s Stuart Townend’s Worship Band—you know. All these different things—it’s all us. It’s all the same heart, just slightly different expressions of different songs.

—Nathan Fellingham

More recently, concerts have been titled Phatfish and Lou Fellingham, with songs from Lou Fellingham's set of works and Phatfish's works being played, in addition to older songs, as well. Phatfish and Lou Fellingham have also supported Stuart Townend in Cheltenham and Wrexham, with less dynamic lighting and a more acoustic sound.

In addition to other musical projects, Fellingham continues to lead worship and head up the choir at her local church. She is still a faithful member of the band Phatfish and they have just released their latest full studio album, In Jesus. Recent appearances at Newday, Souled Out, The Cheltenham Bible Conference, Brighton, Wrexham, Soul By The Sea and Gloucester have been titled "Phatfish and Lou Fellingham". Phatfish and Lou Fellingham have also led worship at the Mission:Worship conference alongside Stuart Townend and Matt Redman in Eastbourne. Additionally, they participated on the Mission:Worship album released by Kingsway Music/Survivor Records titled A New Day Of Worship.

Fellingham is back on the latest Phatfish album In Jesus, released in June 2009. She has continued to perform on the In Jesus tour over the past year and has done many one-night events including unplugged concerts, a special event at Westminster Abbey, and the Premier Radio Woman to Woman Northern conference in Manchester.

Worship leading[link]

Since their formation, and even before, Phatfish has been called upon as a worship band to lead and assist others at conferences and their local church. Fellingham serves her home church, the Church of Christ the King, as the director of their 50-member worship choir.

Throughout 2008 and 2009, Fellingham has led worship and performed at events such as Keswick Ministries, New Word Alive, Kingsway Children's Conference, Radiant, Newfrontiers, Newday, and other artists such as Tim Hughes at Mission:Worship. She appeared at The Big Church Day Out^[8] and Pentecost Festival with Phatfish. There were also appearances and engagements leading worship with Matt Redman, Stuart Townend, Martyn Layzell and others. The Newfrontiers organised conferences, Together On A Mission and Newday, gathered crowds of up to 6,000 people. The largest crowds were at the Stoneleigh Bible Week, where in its final year, there was a record 26,000 persons in attendance.

In an interview with Tony Cummings for Cross Rhythms, Fellingham was asked whether she was comfortable with the label "worship leader".^[9]

The way I understand the role of the "worship leader" at this time, it doesn't bother me if that is part of who I am. The best thing about "leading worship" is when the people as a whole worship together. I believe in a worshipping community but when the numbers reach a certain level I don't think it's inappropriate to have someone anointed and gifted to help guide the way.

—Lou Fellingham

Fellingham and the band offer practical advice about Christian music and leading worship on their 2006 release Working As A Band double-disc CD. They teach this material at worship seminars and one-day events, as well as the annual Mission:Worship conference in Eastbourne.

Fellingham has also led worship at international conferences in England, Scotland and Wales. The band was the runners up at the Christian Web and Blog Awards, attended by the Bishop of London, in the "Most Original Worship Blog/Website" category. They came second to Tim Hughes' and Al Gordon's win for their website worshipcentral.org.

Collaborations[link]

Since forming Phatfish, Fellingham travelled the UK working and collaborating with numerous Christian artists and worship leaders, in addition to performing at various conferences and events. With her breakout solo singing career, she has been involved in several collaborative projects with various Christian events including worship conferences, leadership conferences, women's conferences, music festivals, and stadium concerts, usually alongside the band Phatfish.

In 1999, Newfrontiers started the Stoneleigh Bible Week in Coventry, England. These were conferences gathering UK charismatics/restorationists to hear preaching from various apostolic figures and international speakers. The event gathered up to 26,000 people from around the world for teaching and celebration. During this time, Fellingham was featured on the Stoneleigh recordings published by Kingsway Music.

Since Stoneleigh, Fellingham has been regularly requested to lead worship at other major Christian events including Newday and Spring Harvest. She has appeared on numerous compilation albums, including the Newfrontiers live albums from Stoneleigh to the more recent, Newday. Fellingham has also been involved in training worship leaders and singers through the Church of Christ the King's worship school.

She worked with Mary Mary singer Erica Campbell and gospel singer Jason Bailley on the track "Angels" featured on the collaborative album One Voice released by Kingsway Music in 2009. The album pulled together over 200 hundred Christian artists and musicians. The list of performers reads like a who's who of Christian music: Darlene Zschech, Martin Smith, Smokie Norful, Tim Hughes, Israel Houghton, Nu Colours, Kierra Kiki Sheard, Brenton Brown, Warryn Campbell, Tommy Sims, Muyiwa, Mal Pope, Matt Redman, Rance Allen, Bishop John Francis, Tre Sheppard and Noel Robinson.

The album is the brain child of London Community Gospel Choir co-founder Lawrence Johnson, inspired after he watched the devastation from the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 with horror. Just a few short weeks later, and with the help of Les Moir (Survivor Records), 150 artists answered the call and turned up at the famed Abbey Road Studios in London to begin a journey that has been four years in the making.

"One Voice, One Heart" is a charity single recorded in February 2005 and released at Easter to raise funds for the survivors of the South East Asia tsunami, as well as women's conferences up and down the UK - but her most widely viewed appearances are on the BBC's Songs of Praise.^[10][11]

In 2007, Fellingham featured on the Songs of Praise ^[12] performing songs including "In Christ Alone" (a rebroadcast of 1st Feb 2004),^[13] "See What A Morning", "My Heart Is Filled With Thankfulness", "Knowing Your Grace" and "I Will Say". "I Will Say" was also featured on Spring Harvest albums Shine and Liz Babbs' meditative Immerse. Fellingham's version of "In Christ Alone" was used as a backing track to a radio advertising campaign by Jonathan Gledhill, the Bishop of Lichfield on Beacon Radio, Classic Gold, Signal 1 and Signal 2 in September 2007. This version can also be found on YouTube in various videos popularising the song.

Drummer Nathan Fellingham was the driving force behind the album Trinity, released 2006. It is a compilation of tracks from many artists including Phatfish; the songs focusing on the Trinitarian nature of God.

They have also appeared at events such as Spring Harvest, Soul Survivor, Keswick Convention, Bognor Regis Bible Week, Radiant, Women Walking With God, Kingsway Children's Ministry, Cheltenham Bible Week, Mission:Worship, Festival Manchester, New Word Alive and Worship Together in the United States and Canada.

Stuart Townend has been present at some of the recordings, although Lou Fellingham performed his "In Christ Alone" in 2005 when it featured on the list of the "10 most popular hymns in Britain".

Individual collaborations[link]

Album releases[link]

Whether fronting the band Phatfish or performing as a solo artist Fellingham has been described as "one of the most distinctive voices in Christian music."^[14] Fellingham has stated that her heart is to communicate the love of God through song. Her desire is to express truth, feed the church and bring revelation of God through her singing and songwriting.^[15]

Her first solo release Treasure shot to the number one spot, becoming best-selling album of 2006 through Cross Rhythms. Her second release, Promised Land, received the Gold Award from the Christian Broadcasting Council, which recognised the album as the "Worship Album of 2008".^[1]

In May 2010, Fellingham's third solo album, Step Into the Light, was released. A special launch party and concert was held on 24 May 2010 at Komedia in Brighton. The concert was sold out.^[16]

[edit] Treasure

In 2006, Fellingham's first solo album, entitled Treasure, was released. Fellingham wrote most of the songs on the album, while her husband was co-writer. The project was published by Kingsway Music and produced by Michael Busbee, an American songwriter known professionally as Busbee. The album was recorded in Los Angeles.^[9]

In the Cross Rhythms interview with Tony Cummings,^[9] Fellingham explained the thoughts behind the title song, "Treasure".

There were two mighty men of God in our movement of churches, Newfrontiers. One fighting fit and looked the full bill of health and could go on for years. The other had been suffering with sickness for years, wheelchair bound and looked like he should have passed away years ago. Anyway, God decided to take them at the same time. Both were a shock and very sobering. It reminded me of that Scripture in 2 Corinthians 4 where it talks about having "treasure in jars of clay". The one who seemed to be so strong on the outside, still in fact had the gospel in a jar of clay, as did the one who seemed like his jar should have broken a long time ago, but God had other plans. They were both filled with the Holy Spirit and were great testimonies of men of faith.

—Lou Fellingham

The track "Hard Pressed" was released as a radio single, receiving airplay in the U.S. and on online-based Christian radio stations. The album was Cross Rhythms' best selling album for 2006^[17] and received a positive review from Tony Cummings of Cross Rhythms, referring to Fellingham as one of the best worship leaders in today's church.^[18] Fellingham said of the album:

That song came about when my family, particularly my Mum, was going through an extremely hard time. One that didn't seem to make any sense, one that we had no control over, one that was very painful. I actually wrote the first verse a long time ago, but then when it came time to doing the album we decided to develop the song. There are times when faith seems weak, even non-existent and you can barely open your mouth to speak to God, but that doesn't mean that he's not looking after you and sometimes we just have to fall on God and not say anything. His arms are big enough.

—Lou Fellingham

Following the success of Treasure, Fellingham teamed up with Stuart Townend for a "Stu and Lou" tour with Phatfish. The tour took them to various places around the UK with Fellingham performing tracks from Treasure, while Stuart performed selected tracks from his album, Monument to Mercy.

[edit] Promised Land

Fellingham released her second solo album, Promised Land in May 2008. Busbee produced the album and helped to write the songs, 13 of which were written over three days in Brighton. While Fellingham's first album, Treasure, has been described as being a very "pastoral" album, Fellingham considers Promised Land to be more evangelistic, saying, "It speaks of God's people, the journey we're on, the power of the Gospel and our future, with Jesus, in Heaven."^[19]

An exclusive launch night at the Clarendon Centre was planned with only 150 tickets where Fellingham, backed by Phatfish, performed each track from her new album and talked about the inspiration behind them. An article appeared on the Cross Rhythms website with similar content of Fellingham talking about the songs from the album.^[19]

The album received a positive review from Tony Cummings of Cross Rhythms, calling it Fellingham's best work yet.^[20] In 2008, the album received a Gold Award from the Christian Broadcasting Council in the category of "Best Christian Worship Music Album".^[1]

[edit] Step Into The Light

In early 2010, Fellingham met with Christian songwriter and musician Gary Sadler, who wrote Ancient of Days to write new material for her third album, entitled, Step Into The Light. It was released in May 2010 and launched at a special concert held at the Komedia in Brighton. The concert was sold out.

The album includes a new version of the Fanny Crosby hymn "To God Be the Glory". Published by Kingsway Music and produced by keyboardist Mark Edwards, the album features various individuals that have worked with highly successful musical artists.

• Troy Miller (drums) — drummer for Amy Winehouse
• Stu G (lead guitar) — lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and songwriter for the rock band Delirious?
• Lawrence Johnson (background vocals) — choir arrangement for Leona Lewis' Echo album released in 2009
• LaDonna Harley-Peters (background vocals) — background vocals for Corinne Bailey Rae

Songwriting[link]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lou Fellingham Official site
• Phatfish Official site
• Phatfish Official YouTube Channel