Smokey Robinson PROMO vinyl LP (1 Viewer)

[Phil_H]

I don't see any forums specifically for vinyl records so I thought I'd post this here.
I had a tenant move out of one of my rental properties and she left behind a small stack of vinyl LP's.
One of the LP's is Smokey Robinson - Smoke Signals
In the upper left corner of the front cover, this is stamped in gold ink....

FOR PROMOTION ONLY
OWNERSHIP RESERVED BY
MOTOWN RECORDS
SALE IS UNLAWFUL

What can I do with this LP? Is it legal to even own it?

Phil

 

[Robert Crawford]

I'm going to move this thread to the Music area where album discussion takes place.

 

[Peter Apruzzese]

Those stamps were used to indicate that the album was sent as a sample to reviewers, record store buyers and managers, etc. There is no legal issue with you owning it or re-selling it and some promo copies are considered collectibles, check out www.discogs.com for information.

 

[Phil_H]

Thanks, doesn't look like it's worth much, even in mint condition.

 

[Gary Seven]

I have a number of these bought in second hand record stores decades ago. No special value unless the mix on there is different than what was commercially available, then it may be worth something.

 

[Radioman970]

I work in radio and I'll just say NO COMMENT.

 

[MielR]

They're called "gold stamp promos" and if in great condition, are usually a bit more collectable than the retail versions. Sometimes they also have a white label on the front listing the song titles and times for each song, for the DJ to reference- like this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SOUL-LP-ED...278638?hash=item1efa5ae0ae:g:8SEAAOSwkZFc10xd

I own several myself, and you'll find many for sale on eBay, Discogs, etc. Don't worry---nobody is going to come knocking on your door to confiscate it. ;-)