I've heard the term "white label" records around, but I'm not sure what it is. Can someone explain? Thanks

A record which uses copyrighted samples from other labels, and hence cannot be released under a real label.

actually..

they are PROMOS..not yet released material

released meaning to the masses to buy

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looped in sequence

• Andain - Promise
  
• Adrian Lux - Can't Sleep
  
• Benjamin Francis Leftwich - See You
  
• Company of Thieves - Even In The Dark
  

Which actually means the same as kamel mentioned. By the way: they not really are Promo's, because promo's are about to be released. (at least: that's what i thought... correct me if i'm wrong)

Consider yourself corrected. White labels are early promos. Many times they are pressed in order to gauge future demand for a track. Furthermore, white labels do not have to have copywrited material in them. A white label can, and most commonly are, 100% original.

Oh really? I never really knew what a white label was until just now, thanks for the info! I just saw Blank and Jones' new single "Beyond Time" and i think it might have been a white label because it didnt look professionally released by Kontor Records and it was only a one sided record...Is that a white label?

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K, I never thought of that one.
I just searched @ napster for white labels and I found some well known tracks too, which made me start wondering. Most of the white-labels I found where mixed with samples of other songs though...

Some of them are really awesome, others are just fun to listen to. Try downloading the following white labels:

-Da Rude vs. One phat Diva: in and out of the sandstorm
-Paul Johnson vs. Abba - get down, gimme, gimme
-Watergate vs. Jennifer Lopez - waiting for tonight in asia
-Dj Jurgen - Everybody is better off free

The term white label originally came from where unsigned artists were realeasing their own material. The reason it's called white label is that it's how the record is manufactured before any artwork is put on it. Unsigned artists generally can't afford any artwork so the label on the record remained white.

Nowadays it means several things:

1. Unsigned artist releasing own material, including bootlegs that use illegal samples.
2. More commonly, pre-release promos given away (or sold) by record companies to DJs and record shops to generate interest and to predict how well the track will sell and hence how many records they should press in the final print run.