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A common job for music writers throughout the rock era was producing liner notes, the pieces of writing printed on the inner sleeve of a vinyl record. Ritchie Yorke was prolific with his writing of liner notes for some of his favourite acts, including Edward Bear, Aretha Franklin, Ronnie Hawkins, and B.B. King. 

This copy of His Best: The Electric B.B. King features Ritchie’s liner notes and was signed and gifted to him in 1968 upon its release, though he would’ve received an advance copy as well in order to write the notes in line with the albums material. This kind of procedure allows writers to hear the music early and get a head start on any reviews/ articles. 

The concept of liner notes was descended from the program notes of musical concerts where information on the show and its performers and creators could be listed. They evolved and began to be printed on vinyl records as early as 1948. The notes on these records could be dedicated to a variety of things including artist and album bios, discographies, dedications and information on producers, collaborators and other credits.

The idea of liner notes survived early medium transitions such as cassettes and cds, through the use of booklets included in the cases, though these changes in medium each bought significant differences for liner notes, such as cd booklets strong use of imagery. Liner notes survive today in digital formats as credits attached to the files and writing on the materials page on streaming services, as well as in the format they originated from, vinyl. The vinyl resurgence of the past 10 years has led to a comeback in liner notes and a stronger focus on the material as a package, with music, artwork and liner notes all being important parts of the final product for collectors.

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In 1977 one of the biggest rock bands of the era, Supertramp, were busy working on their new album “Even in the Quietest Moments” in Los Angeles. This was the follow-up to Supertramp’s popular fourth work, “Crisis? What Crisis?”. It was this album that Ritchie Yorke was sent a personal signed copy of the record as a gift. Though this material sold well and received some critical praise, Rolling Stone magazine at the time panned the record, adding to the pressure for their follow-up.

Ritchie Yorke, a big fan of the band, was at the time writing for Cheap Thrills magazine when he decided to meet with the band to discuss their new record. The meeting was held at the world-famous Record Plant Studios, where megastars like Stevie Wonder and The Eagles had recorded.

This meeting was significant as the band were renowned for secrecy during their recording sessions and this occasion marked the first time they allowed a media member to be present in the studio as they worked and to hear some of the new material as well as to conduct an interview with the band.

During the interview the band shed light on the new tracks and the concepts and ideas that inspired them. Plans for the new tour and the future of the band were also discussed, the highlight of which being the bands plans to have a Donald Duck statue on stage that blew bubbles as they performed. This article and interview is still available to read here.

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This flier was circulated in 1970 at a James Brown show Ritchie Yorke attended at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. These programs were used as a method of promotion and as a piece of collectible memorabilia to go alongside the concert.  

The program itself features a number of photographs of Brown, as well as some short bios and interviews. The bio details Brown’s life and how he got his start as a recording artist, as well as stories behind some of his most popular songs. 

Before the mainstream merchandising opportunities that exist today, options were significantly more limited and more expensive. Many attendees of these concerts resorted to collecting these programs or items like ticket stubs as a widely available and affordable piece of memorabilia.

The concept of these promotional magazines is descended from theatre or stage shows like musicals where it is used to promote the show and give information like track listing or length. However, it seems that the medium has largely moved back into this realm and away from the promotion of individual artists or bands. 

The evolution of technology has likely played a part in this step back as concerts are now more easily promoted via social media and fans of the artists are much more likely to already know the history through their own research on the Internet. Additionally, most bands and artists now have easier and more affordable access to merchandising options like t-shirts and tote bags that consumers prefer as a way to display their tastes. Overall, while some high status artists still use programs, for the most part their use had been relegated back to the stage performances they originated from.

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On December 15, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began the next stage of their campaign for peace. Huge posters and billboards bearing the slogan “War is Over! If You Want It.” appeared in 12 major cities around the world. Thousands of handbills and posters were printed to be posted around the cities and handed out to pedestrians. The ad also appeared in numerous publications around the globe. This handbill was made during this period, signed by Yoko Ono and kept by Ritchie Yorke as a part of his collection.

Ritchie Yorke was involved in this peace campaign as an ambassador, helping Lennon and Ono plan and organise some of the major moments such as the meeting with Canadian PM Pierre Trudeau. His position as ambassador led to him travelling the world alongside Ronnie Hawkins in 1970 to display the posters in various places, including the dangerous trip to the Chinese border.

This campaign set a precedent around the world and showed numerous artists that they could use their success and celebrity for positive causes and to affect a real change. It’s strong branding and use of repetition ensured that the message was cemented in the minds of it’s audience. Though the posters were at the time unsuccessful in ending the Vietnam War raging at the time, they can be considered a significant part of changing the public opinion on the conflict. 

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Similar to the early rock and roll promotional magazines, these publications allowed record labels to directly promote new artists and albums to people that display a similar taste in music. 

The Hitsville magazine was started in 1965 as a way to promote the music of Motown. The vast subscriber base became known as the Tamla Motown Appreciation Society, of which Ritchie Yorke was proudly the first Australian member. Subscribers would receive a monthly magazine with articles, reviews, previews and promos featuring the biggest artists of the Motown movement. Some copies use reprinted articles from more significant magazines while most are written specifically for the magazine.

The Rhythm and Soul Magazine focused more largely on soul music as well as rhythm and blues and featured a smaller group of subscribers. Nonetheless content remains similar with articles, reviews and promos used to introduce fans to new artists and to promote new material.

It is clear that these magazines primary functions are to show new artists and promote new material. Today, finding new music as a process has been vastly simplified. The use of streaming services have allowed for algorithms to be written to promote new music to fans of similar material. We see this in places like Youtube’s recommended feature and Spotify’s playlists. Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud also now make it easy to see what music our friends are listening to, allowing us to find new music through friends with shared musical interests. These sites also show when musicians that we are already fans of release new music.

While fan clubs like the ones that started these magazines still exist in some forms, usually in Facebook groups or E-mail chains that allow for faster and easier distribution, it is evident that the need for physical promotional material of this nature has dwindled.

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While early promotional magazines were popular for a time, they were largely used by more popular bands and musicians and wouldn’t be accessible to newer artists starting out. Thus, the 8×10” promotional photo came about. This allowed the record labels to mail press kits straight to music journalists containing what became the industry standard 8×10 promotional photographs. This opened the doors for the record companies to easily promote their artists without constant communication with the media to organise individual photoshoots and interviews and without curating promotional magazines for every artist in their roster.

These shots are sent on a bromide print, a type of paper containing silver bromide that is sufficiently sensitive to light to be used for resizing the shots. This allowed journalists to scale images easily for the various publications they were writing for. 

Due to the popularity of these promotional kits, many journalists have accumulated huge collections of these shots in their archives. Ritchie Yorke’s collection of these shots is at an approximate 5000 photographs. This staggering amount shows the frequency that these press kits were circulated amongst members of the music press.

Nowadays much of music promotion has moved into the social media realm and bands are able to market themselves in a much stronger way through it’s usage. However, record labels are still commonly sending out 8×10 promotional photos and press kits, though this is largely for more popular bands whereas previously they would be used by almost all musicians. There are still numerous companies that offer to shoot 8×10 shots for musicians and record labels, and many of the labels recommend having both physical and digital 8×10 shots.

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These Beatles magazines, published during the bands prime in the 1960’s are a prime demonstration of how the methods of music promotion have evolved over time. Before the widespread use of television, magazines like this were used to show fans how their favourite artists really looked and worked. 

Largely made up of photographs, the magazines show a carefully curated selection designed to promote an image of the artists. These ones in particular strengthen the aesthetical choices of The Beatles in their early days: neat suits, carefully cut mop tops and an overall sense of mod or teddy-boy style. Bio’s are also included for each member, detailing a short history of their early life and how they came to find their instruments and their place in the band, while avoiding mention of any kind of controversial incidents or opinions.

The magazines also act as a resource for early music journalists. Ritchie Yorke himself has notes in the pages selecting shots to be requested and subsequently licensed for his own articles. This allowed for a simple and expansive pool of promotional photography.

As print media becomes increasingly unpopular, particularly in specialised areas like music, it is evident how an artists Instagram page acts as its replacement, with well-curated photos that progress the aesthetic of the band or artist, details of upcoming appearances and performances, and the promotion of new music releases and merchandise. The social media also acts as a resource for journalists, allowing bands more control on what they’d like to see published.

There are significant differences however. While magazines are carefully curated by the publisher, the record label and sometimes the band itself, new social media shows more and more musicians in charge of their own social media, particularly in the early stages of their career. This can be a positive change, as we now can engage with the real musicians, while simultaneously allowing artists to publicly advocate for other musicians they support or charitable causes. On the flipside, this artistic control could also be detrimental to musicians if their posts are considered offensive or obscene.

The other primary difference is in terms of monetisation. These magazines would certainly have contributed to the income of popular musicians in a fairly steady revenue stream, whereas social media leaves little clear opportunity for financial gain. This leads to some of the changes between the formats, where social media is more so than ever focussed on the promotion of live shows and merchandising as opposed to simple performance shots and album promotion, another facet of the music industry that has fast deteriorated in terms of profits.

While we can no longer go down to the store and buy a magazine focussed on our favourite band, we can see that the evolution to social media allows us much of the same experience. While many could make the case for the more meaningful physical items, social media is overall a more inclusive platform as it doesn’t require money beyond the price of internet access. Overall these magazines demonstrate how the music industry evolves and adapts alongside the technology, and in future we will almost certainly see new and exciting models for music’s promotion.