A white label record is a vinyl record with white labels attached. There are several variations each with a different purpose. Variations include test pressings, white label promos, and plain white labels. Test pressings Test pressings, usually with test pressing written on the label, with catalogue number, artist and recording time or date, are the first vinyl discs made at the factory. Such discs are produced in very small quantities (usually no more than 5 or 6 copies) to evaluate the quality of the disc before mass production begins. A review of the test pressing may expose problems with the tape to disc transfer (mastering) and helps to ensure that the defective discs do not reach the public. Promotional recordings In the United States, the term white label promo (often abbreviated as WLP) refers to a promotional pressing with a label that has mostly the same text and label logo/artwork as the commercial label, but with a white background instead of the color label or artwork found on commercial pressings. These are usually pressed in quantities of only a few thousand per title. Such copies may also contain biographies or pictures of the musical artists. Promotional copies are for distribution to journalists, music distributors or radio stations in order to assess consumer opinion. Plain white labels White label discs can be used to anonymously promote new artists or upcoming albums by veteran artists. In some cases plain white labels are issued to conceal artist identities (examples of this include songs by Traci Lords and La Toya Jackson), whose record companies issued white labels so that DJs would have no pre-conceived notions about the music from the artist name. Many dance music producers press copies of white labels in order to test crowd response in dance clubs to their own musical productions. Use of white labels in house music and hip hop Today, white labels are usually produced in small amounts (fewer than 300) by small record companies or DJs and are most popular with house music and hip-hop music DJs. In the early 1990s, hardcore techno and house artists created tracks in home or local studios and had five-hundred or a few thousand singles pressed on 12" white labels, which were easy to sell at dance music record stores. Steve Beckett of Warp Records recalls that "shops would take fifty white labels off you for five pounds each, no problem.