Promo Pool for Record Labels: Your List, the Pool or Both

Every record label that sends promos ends up with the same question: is a promo pool worth it, or is our own DJ list enough? We looked at every promo sent on PromoLink, 316,750 times a DJ received a release, and the answer is not either one. A label's own list converts best per send. But releases that went to the label's list and to the pool did better than releases that went to only one of them, and the list is the reason the pool works. Here is what a promo pool does for a record label, what the numbers show, and how to decide.

A promo pool gets a label's new release to DJs before and around release day, and shows the label who listened and who downloaded. For a label, there are two kinds, and it helps to keep them apart.

• Platforms that send to the list you bring. Inflyte, FATdrop and Label Worx are the long-running classics. You import your DJ contacts, the platform delivers the promo, and it reports who opened, listened and downloaded. Inflyte says it plainly in its own help pages: "We don't provide contacts or mailing lists" (Inflyte help). It is the technology that delivers your promo.
• Pools that bring DJs of their own. Here the platform has DJs who signed up to receive promos, and a release can reach them without the label knowing them first. On PromoLink, DJs apply with their Instagram and the genres they play, are approved by hand, and get promos only in the genres they chose. Labels see by name who downloaded, never the DJs' addresses.

PromoLink does both: a release goes to the label's own contacts, to the DJs of the pool, or to both. That is why we can compare the two on the same releases, the same months and the same genres. For the full definition, see what is a promo pool.

A label's own DJ list converts better than a pool, send for send. Across all promos on PromoLink, 5.9% of sends to a label's own list ended in a download, against 4.1% of sends to pool DJs.

• Own list: 262,478 sends, 5.9% ended in a download
• DJ pool: 54,272 sends, 4.1% ended in a download

The reason is targeting. A label knows its own list: the DJs on it play the label's sound, many know its artists, and the label picks who gets what. That makes every download from the list a better-qualified one. A pool reaches DJs who chose the genre, which is a wider net by design.

So if your only question is "which converts better per email", the answer is your own list. But that is not the question that decides how far a release travels.

The pool converts best when the label also sends the release to its own list. Pool sends of releases that also went to the label's own contacts ended in a download 4.2% of the time; pool sends of releases that went only to the pool, 2.7%.

• Releases sent to the own list and the pool: 6.1% of all their sends ended in a download
• Releases sent to the own list only: 5.2%
• Releases sent to the pool only: 2.7%

Two cautions before reading too much into it. Only 22 releases went to the pool alone, so that figure is a small sample. And labels that use both are often the more active ones, which helps them anyway.

The mechanism is the chart. A pool is passive promo: pool DJs do not open every release, they mostly pick what is already moving, the top of the PromoLink chart. A track climbs that chart on downloads. So the better a label works its own contacts, and the more those DJs download, the higher the track climbs, and the more it is noticed by the other DJs and artists who spend time in the pool and on the chart. The list is the engine; the pool multiplies what the engine starts.

That also explains why the label's own sends did better on releases that were in the pool too (7.3% against 5.2%): a track that is moving on the chart is easier to say yes to.

A label with a large list uses a pool to reach DJ-artists it does not have yet. Your list is the DJs you already know; a pool is everyone else who plays your genre and asked to hear new music.

That is a passive gain: the platform keeps the pool growing, so the label reaches more artists without spending time building its list by hand. On PromoLink, a label can filter the pool for the names it wants:

• its own genres, or neighbouring ones
• activity: DJs who already downloaded the label's promos, DJs who download a lot but not yet from this label, DJs who have not downloaded anything yet
• profile: a verified Instagram, Instagram size, recently joined
• country

A label can also set conditions once, and every send checks them. It is a way to find new names, not a replacement for your list.

There is a second reason, and it is long term. Many DJs are also producers. A DJ who discovers a label through the pool, downloads its promos and comes back is a DJ who may send that label their next demo.

A label with no DJ list should start with a pool, and build its own list alongside it. Without contacts, a release sent only to your own list reaches nobody; a pool reaches DJs who play your genre from the first release.

Two things to know before you start:

• Expect the pool alone to convert lower. The 2.7% figure above is the pool without a list behind it. Every DJ you add to your own list, and every download from it, lifts the release on the chart and helps the pool do more.
• Build the list the classic way, in parallel. The DJs you meet, play with and trade music with belong on your list, segmented by genre. Twenty DJs who play your sound beat two thousand who do not. Our guide on how to build a DJ mailing list walks through it.

On PromoLink your first 20 releases go to the pool free, so a new label can test it before paying for anything.

The classic platforms are good at what they were built for: email promo to the list you bring, with clear data on who downloaded and how. Inflyte, FATdrop and Label Worx have run for years, and many labels and DJs know them well.

Inflyte in particular has thought about the touring DJ. Its mobile app lets DJs listen to promos offline, rate them and leave feedback, and it can sync downloads to Dropbox and straight into rekordbox, according to Inflyte's own help pages. For a DJ who works through promos on a plane, that is a real advantage.

PromoLink makes a different bet: convenience on the desktop. A DJ opens the chart or the weekly digest, plays a release in one click, and downloads the format they play, MP3, WAV or AIFF. For a label, the difference is the pool: DJs who chose your genre, on top of the list you already have. If you want to compare the options side by side, see our Inflyte alternative page.

The most expensive mistake is sending every release to everyone. A label's list works because DJs trust it: when a promo arrives, it is worth opening.

Widen the send when you release a big name. But blasting everyone with every small release, or with a release you are not fully sure of, teaches DJs to ignore your emails, and that trust is slow to win back. The data shows how much is at stake: a DJ who has downloaded one of a label's promos before downloads its next one 25.2% of the time; a DJ who never has, 0.3%. The list is worth protecting.

What is a promo pool for record labels? A platform that gets a label's new releases to DJs and shows who listened and who downloaded. Some send only to the list the label brings (Inflyte, FATdrop, Label Worx); others also bring DJs of their own. PromoLink does both.

Is it better to send promos to my own list or to a promo pool? Per send, your own list converts better: 5.9% of sends to labels' own lists ended in a download on PromoLink, against 4.1% for the pool. Releases sent to both did best overall, 6.1%.

Do I need my own DJ list to use a promo pool? No, a pool reaches DJs without one. But the pool works better with a list behind it: pool sends of releases that also went to an own list converted 4.2%, pool-only releases 2.7%.

Is a promo pool worth it for a small label? Yes, as a way to reach DJs you do not know yet. On PromoLink the first 20 releases go to the pool free, so you can see the result before paying.

Do DJs pay to be in a promo pool? On PromoLink, no. DJs apply with their Instagram and genres, are approved by hand, and get promos in the genres they chose for free. Labels never see their addresses.

Can I keep using Inflyte and add a pool? Yes. A label can keep its list where it is. A pool adds DJs your list does not have; it does not replace the list.

Send your next release to your own list, to the PromoLink DJ pool, or to both, and see by name who listened and who downloaded. Your first 20 releases go to the pool free, and the numbers from this article are below as a one-page PDF.