PrimeCuts Closing Permanently December 31st

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steve149

Shine on you crazy diamond
Staff member
Sep 26, 2011
28,175
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Connecticut
Just saw that TM Studios and their PrimeCuts and HitDisc services will close on 12/31... https://www.primecutsmusic.com/

IMPORTANT NOTICE

TM Studios will be closing its HitDisc and PrimeCuts services effective December 31, 2018. It has been our great pleasure to serve you throughout the years. Those subscribers who have deposits on account will receive a credit for December 2018 service; those who do not will be charged for the portion of December 2018 that has yet to be billed/paid. Annual subscribers should contact Lakeisha Black at[email protected] or 972-406-6828 to process a pro-rata reimbursement for amounts for 2019 that were previously paid. Other questions should be directed to Karyn Fairris at [email protected] or 972-406-6823.
 
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Another music service bites the dust. Not enough CD subscribers? Don't believe they were into digital pool business?
 
Maybe it's because most of the songs on their discs have been fluff for a while now.
 
It's the state of the DJ industry in 2018. They got rid of discs a while ago, and *most* DJs get their music via YouTube, file sharing, music pools of questionable legality or remix services, or by purchasing the songs they need from iTunes. There's just not much of a need to own physical files of every new song that comes out when most of it isn't danceable, less than 1% will ever get requested, and only a few songs each year are even memorable. If you don't have a song and you're in the middle of a set, you can easily download or stream it to appease the audience.

At $40 a month, PrimeCuts was a bargain if you didn't need serious dance music and didn't want to deal with chart research. For a wedding DJ, it was perfect.

The press release didn't mention that a number of the TM staff members are being laid off as a result of this change; a handful of them are planning to start a new music service very shortly. 30 days' notice doesn't really give them much time for anything, but I'm sure you'll hear about it when it's introduced.

Personally, I'm taking a wait-and-see approach before I sign up with a new service. Promo Only's service is considerably more expensive and Top Hits USA is PrimeCuts' closest competitor, but I just don't need to own every song anymore. There are fewer new releases in December and January anyway, so I can wait a couple of months and then see where I'm at before next year's gigs pick up.
 
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Just got an email from Jim Weisz, here is the copy/paste:

As you may have heard, TM Studios is discontinuing all of their music services effective the end of this year. Having been with TM for over 15 years, I was truly surprised when I heard the news. The music division at TM has been a staple in the radio industry for decades and I couldn't imagine it just going away.

While TM won't be offering music services any longer, the good news is you won't have to look elsewhere for a new music service.

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be working with a new company who's going to continue with the exact same service you've had with PrimeCuts—including the same guy who has programmed PrimeCuts for the last 20 years! The new company is primarily comprised of people who have been working on the TM music services for decades, so you'll be getting the same level of quality you've received in the past.

I helped develop PrimeCuts over 18 years ago, so I'm so glad that this amazing service isn't going away. In fact, it's going to get better (both with more features and lower prices!).

I'm really excited about this new company and I hope you are too. I can't say a whole lot more right now, but I'll be in touch around mid-December with more info. In the meantime, you can check out HitsNowMusic.com if you'd like to get an idea of the basics of what we'll be offering.

The new service will start no later than January 1st, meaning you won’t have any lapse in your service.

Stay tuned!

Jim Weisz
Copyright © 2018 Hits Now Music, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you're a user of music subscription services.

Our mailing address is:
Hits Now Music
5501 Willow Lane
Colleyville, TX 76034
 
Just got email from Jim Weisz saying the majority of the people involved in PrimeCuts are sticking together and creating a new company named Hits Now Music and they will be jumping into the market in January after PrimeCuts closes down. Hits Now Music - (https://www.hitsnowmusic.com)

Why? There is a reason they closed down shop. The same guys sticking together means that the service will be "the same".

No way I am trusting my music needs to a start up company. Too many other quality options.
 
Just saw that TM Studios and their PrimeCuts and HitDisc services will close on 12/31... https://www.primecutsmusic.com/

IMPORTANT NOTICE

TM Studios will be closing its HitDisc and PrimeCuts services effective December 31, 2018. It has been our great pleasure to serve you throughout the years. Those subscribers who have deposits on account will receive a credit for December 2018 service; those who do not will be charged for the portion of December 2018 that has yet to be billed/paid. Annual subscribers should contact Lakeisha Black at[email protected] or 972-406-6828 to process a pro-rata reimbursement for amounts for 2019 that were previously paid. Other questions should be directed to Karyn Fairris at [email protected] or 972-406-6823.
Hey what was the name of the service you've posted about that is for military and public service professionals? Might look into them.
 
yeah, Jim is talking about this and answering questions on facebook. TM studios will still exist but will focus on jingles. The new company will have lower prices on mp3 downloads.
 
yeah, Jim is talking about this and answering questions on facebook. TM studios will still exist but will focus on jingles. The new company will have lower prices on mp3 downloads.
where on FB?
 
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Why? There is a reason they closed down shop. The same guys sticking together means that the service will be "the same".

No way I am trusting my music needs to a start up company. Too many other quality options.

The reason is that they're owned by Cumulus Media, an owner of radio stations. That wasn't always the case... TM Century used to be THE source that radio stations relied on to build their music libraries, along with providing jingles and production music. About 12 years ago, they got bought out, and the company has changed hands a few times since then. Because they're now owned by a company that owns radio stations, it's a safe bet that the company doesn't need to be in the business of furnishing music to their competitors in 2018. Eliminate the staff, discontinue the service, make shareholders happy.

The PrimeCuts branch of their business was always a very small piece of the pie. The new company may be a start-up, but it's being run by all of the same people who've been programming and running the PrimeCuts branch of the business for years. If you've enjoyed PrimeCuts as I have, you shouldn't be worried about the changeover. They'll take good care of their customers.
 
I can wholeheartedly and happily endorse a start up that is managed and operated by Jim Weisz and others he trusts enough to operate a business based on his reputation and the customers he cultivated.

I have only been a TM Century/Jones TM/PrimeCuts subscriber since the late 90s, so my experience is admittedly limited to those 25+ years, but Jim has been affiliated with and, primarily responsible for, the music service that I have relied upon and trusted for at least 10+ year and I intend to continue with his new venture.

Best of Luck and looking forward to the new service.
 
I have been a TM/Prime Cuts subscriber for over ten years. Don't plan on doing anything differently. Happy with the subscription.

Unless and until there is a significant or noticeable objectionable change in service, I am staying with the switch to hitsnowmusic.
 
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I've always been pleased with the song coverage provided by PrimeCuts, never found myself missing a song I needed.

What I will say, though, is that Promo Only does some audio voodoo on their tracks that sounds good. They probably just over-compress them; as a music snob, that's terrible, but as a DJ, having consistent/predictable volume levels as a DJ is clutch. VirtualDJ does a decent job at volume/gain leveling, but still.

I replied to Jim's email asking if he could add explicit versions of Urban tracks to his new service so I don't have to pick up Promo Only's "Urban Club" issues as part of their $12/month Urban subscription. Not all of my gigs are family-friendly events.
 
I've always been pleased with the song coverage provided by PrimeCuts, never found myself missing a song I needed.
Ditto.

I replied to Jim's email asking if he could add explicit versions of Urban tracks to his new service so I don't have to pick up Promo Only's "Urban Club" issues as part of their $12/month Urban subscription. Not all of my gigs are family-friendly events.
I'll second that suggestion...as well.
 
Got a reply from Jim - he said it's unlikely, but not entirely out of the question to get explicit tracks:

"Our programmer works with the labels to get us everything they're releasing to radio. Since they don't service stations with explicit versions, we only get radio edits. There's a slim chance we could start to get some explicit in the future, but it would take a while to start getting that content. Also, I'm not sure if the ROI would be there for us to do it as most of our subscribers are either radio stations or mobile DJs who only want radio edits."