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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 09 December 2018 at 12:44pm | IP Logged
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I just learned that TM Century's HitDiscs are being discontinued on Dec 31 2018. They discontinued the physical CDs a year or two ago and went to strictly download only. Now it appears they're ending the download only (which was great for getting WAVs of dj only single mixes, edits, no-rap versions) and just even discovering new songs that never make it to the radio!
The only replacement I can think of is Promo Only - but they are lacking in 2 ways: (1) For any particular genre, they only release one disc per month (instead of 4-5 with HitDiscs) (2) There's no UK Promo Only, like there is a UK HitDisc, which I LOVED.
There are all sorts of other formats at Promo Only like Latin (many genres), Club (many genres), etc. But for someone who wants mainstream pop, at Promo Only I'm limited to about 20 songs per month instead of 80-100.
And in terms of UK, does anyone know a radio service located in the UK that's like TM Century's HitDiscs or Promo Only? There's got to be something! This topic came up in the post about Clean Bandit's "Rockabye" featuring Anne-Marie without Sean Paul, but no one knew of any service.
With HitDiscs going away, this question is more important than ever... especially for anyone who likes UK pop :)
So has anyone ever looked into a UK equivalent of TM Century's HitDiscs or Promo Only. I have to believe something exists. It's probably "download only" at this point, but that's ok.
Edited by EdisonLite on 09 December 2018 at 12:45pm
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eriejwg
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| Posted: 09 December 2018 at 1:35pm | IP Logged
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The team at TM behind the HitDiscs, PrimeCuts etc. are
creating their own company by the end of the month with no
disuption in service. It's called Hits Now. Here's a
placeholder page with some info:
https://www.hitsnowmusic.com/Default.asp
Not sure if Jim at TM is your rep, but he's the driving
force behind Hits Now.
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John Gallagher
John Gallagher Wedding & Special Event Entertainment
Snapblast Photo Booth
Erie, PA
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 09 December 2018 at 2:58pm | IP Logged
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Wow, John, that's great to know. Thanks.
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 09 December 2018 at 3:02pm | IP Logged
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BTW, I researched getting UK promos in the meantime and found that Promo Only has a UK division:
www.promoonly.co.uk
... which has a "chart audio" subscription for 15 GBP/month. This has a lot more than 20 songs per month, and often 2-3 or more versions per song (clean, explicit, & remixes) and follows along much more with the UK charts. Still, not as extensive as TM UK discs, which has weekly updates of about 20 songs. Also, I hope they don't have any requirements like having to be located in the UK to get the UK series.
Also, I researched "Rockabye" - they have about a dozen versions (!) but still not one that has Anne-Marie without Sean Paul. Almost hard to believe when they have 12 versions.
Edited by EdisonLite on 09 December 2018 at 3:03pm
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 3:31am | IP Logged
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Edited by EdisonLite on 14 December 2018 at 4:29pm
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Hykker
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 7:02am | IP Logged
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EdisonLite wrote:
The only replacement I can think
of is Promo Only - but they are lacking in 2 ways: (1)
For any particular genre, they only release one disc
per month (instead of 4-5 with HitDiscs) (2) There's
no UK Promo Only, like there is a UK HitDisc, which I
LOVED. |
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Well, there's New
Music Server which has been around for the last
15 years or so. I don't think there's any fee, though
you do need to prove you're with a radio station. I
don't know if they allow mobile DJs to have an account
or not.
Most every genre is represented, and most give you the
option of a 320k mp3 or .wav download.
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eriejwg
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 8:05am | IP Logged
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The email many of us received was directly from Jim and
that the team at TM that was being laid off was moving
to Hits Now Music. I've also noticed that what was a
temporary placeholder for that website is gone and that
the site can't be reached. I'm presuming the site is
being designed for use sometime after Christmas.
There is a private group on Facebook where he chats with
users of what is now TM. He hasn't given any indication
of moving on to any other company other than creating
Hits Now. Trust me, there are a lot of users at stake
and I presume lots of radio stations too. I can't
imagine a big announcement like this only to abandon
those plans.
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John Gallagher
John Gallagher Wedding & Special Event Entertainment
Snapblast Photo Booth
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aaronk
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 9:16am | IP Logged
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EdisonLite wrote:
| Though you mention Jim is likely moving there, I've actually heard that he's considering moving to another company. So if this was his baby, Hits Now may not happen at all. |
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Jim is a very good friend of mine, and I talk to him typically once a week, sometimes more often. I've not heard him say that he's considering moving to another company, so if that's true, it's news to me. As far as I know, he's working on the launch of Hits Now.
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Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop
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aaronk
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 2:01pm | IP Logged
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Edited by aaronk on 14 December 2018 at 2:40pm
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Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
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eriejwg
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 2:29pm | IP Logged
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aaronk wrote:
I called and talked to Jim this afternoon,
as I hadn't talked to him since this past weekend. Sure
enough, they have scrapped plans to launch Hits Now as of
a couple days ago. |
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Well, that's certainly disappointing news. TM's service
for DJ's was unmatched. Top 40, A/C, Rock, Alternative,
Country, Christian, Smooth Jazz, Latin and UK.
Aaron, message me as to what you subscribe to or if there
is a legal pool that offers all these choices.
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John Gallagher
John Gallagher Wedding & Special Event Entertainment
Snapblast Photo Booth
Erie, PA
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crapfromthepast
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 3:14pm | IP Logged
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I've been using Top Hits USA's service since 1996. Website is at www.tophitsusa.com
Pros: Excellent track selection (I get AC + CHR + Country on the weekly discs, plus 6 CHR "recurrents" discs per year), very good customer service.
Cons: They still add an inaudible cue tone in one channel at the very end of the song. Older automation systems used the cue tone to trigger the next song. Sound quality has been very good since about 1998 or 1999, when they switched from an analog internal system (presumably to add the cue tone) to a digital system. Pre-1998 or 1999 discs had questionable sound, including occasional early fades, or weird level boosts at the beginning of the song.
They also allow for downloading of m4a files, there's an additional video service, and there's a searchable/downloadable music library, so you can find stuff.
Overall, I've been pleased. I honestly don't know how much longer they'll offer the CD service, though. I'm surprised that it's lasted this long.
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There's a lot of crap on the radio, but there's only one Crap From The Past.
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 4:33pm | IP Logged
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Hykker wrote:
Well, there's New
Music Server which has been around for the last
15 years or so. I don't think there's any fee, though
you do need to prove you're with a radio station. I
don't know if they allow mobile DJs to have an account
or not.
Most every genre is represented, and most give you the
option of a 320k mp3 or .wav download.
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I clicked on your New Music Server link and it says it's "Coming 2019" but you say it's been around 15 years. Do you know what's going on?
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 4:36pm | IP Logged
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I just re-read the page. Maybe they were talking about specific music coming in 2019 :)
Between New Music Server and Top Hits USA, is anyone familiar with both and have a preference?
I'd love a site that has UK releases, but it doesn't sound like any of these do. And though Hits Now Music looks like it was going to be an exact replacement for HitDiscs (including UK as one of the options on their website "holder"), I now understand that the site (and service) won't be happening at all. That's really unfortunate.
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aaronk
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| Posted: 14 December 2018 at 5:22pm | IP Logged
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Gordon, you will not be able to get an account with New Music Server
unless you work in radio and are a PD or MD.
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Aaron Kannowski
Uptown Sound
91.9 The Peak - Classic Hip Hop
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prisdeej
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| Posted: 19 December 2018 at 4:44pm | IP Logged
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from www.primecutsmusic.com
For those customers who would like to continue with a similar service, we’d
like to introduce you to “Promo Only”, an excellent option to meet your content
needs going forward. Former TM Studios Prime Cuts customer manager, Jim Weisz,
will be joining the Promo Only sales team and can help you transition. To hear
more, call 407-331-3600 or email promo@promoonly.com or
jim.weisz@promoonly.com.
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Dave L.
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eriejwg
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| Posted: 19 December 2018 at 6:48pm | IP Logged
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Had a great conversation with Jim Weisz and signed with
Promo Only today after nearly 14 years with TM. 11 years
with Top Hits USA before that. I signed up for the Pool
Audio Silver which is as close to TM as it gets right now.
Jim expects improvements in the months to come.
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John Gallagher
John Gallagher Wedding & Special Event Entertainment
Snapblast Photo Booth
Erie, PA
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EdisonLite
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| Posted: 19 December 2018 at 10:49pm | IP Logged
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I'm glad Jim will be at Promo Only. I hope he brings some aspects that TM/HitDiscs had, that's not at Promo Only... though sadly, it looks like there's no future for the equivalent of HitDisc's UK discs which are GREAT.
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Topic: TM Century HitDiscs - the end of ...
