Marketing and Distribution
For the major record labels. promoting an album depended on obtaining regular airplay on radio stations around the country. This process began with an album mail-out which provided free copies of the recording to radio stations and music journalists. For a small independent label like Compass, promotional efforts were highly specialized and targeted. Compass focused on local radio programs and record stores in coordination with the performer's tour schedule. A typical album mail-out for Compass Records included 2,000 CD units. Compass usually negotiated a reduced rate of $0.50 per unit with its manufacturer for making the promotional CDs the postage and collateral materials cost an additional $2.00 per unit. None of those costs were recoupable.