CD inserts: on mailing lists and personal information

5.32.00pm GMT Sat 22nd Mar 2008

I came by an insert in a CD today asking for the customer's name and address etc. for mailing purposes. Not unusual, except that it was amusing and honest. Its the sort of thing that no-one would give a second look, but someone must have spent a day or so writing the text and laying it out in a DTP package, so I think its work mentioning.

The label doesn't exist any more (labelm.com is for sale). It looks like 'Label M' was a started by Joel Dorn, a Jazz & R&B music producer. Wikipedia tells me he died in December 2007.

"We're not smart enough to know what to do with all the information that other record companies ask for on these cards. How far you live from the nearest mall or the titles of the last ten books you've read mean nothing to us. All we want is your name and address and, if you'd like to share it with us, your email address so that we can build a mailing list and from time to time send you our catalog."

"If you're kind enough to give us what we've asked for, we promise we won't sell that information to anyone else who has a mailing list. You have my word."

"- J.D."

"P.S. If you ever want to find out just how big the mailing list business is, next time you fill out something that requests personal information, give 'em your right address by use a different name. Then sit back and wait for all the mail that somebody who doesn't exist gets."

The label was part of a bigger record company - PDSE. My feeling is that it was pretty independent.

But with the modern corporate world - Pret being bought into by MacDonalds (ultimately Pret was sold in a private equity deal) L'Oreal buying Body Shop .. how does a consumer know if the culture will survive, and this sort of commitment maintained?

Related Links:

Wikipedia - Joel Dorn

PDSE announcement of Label M in 2000

Joel Dorn returns