Hit of the Week Records was a record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 based in the United States of America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the early 1930s. Distinctively, "Hit of the Week"s were made not of shellac

Shellac

Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes , which are dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish...

 as was usual for gramophone record

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

 of the era, but of a patented blend of paper

Paper

Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....

 and resin

Resin

Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...

 called Durium. A related label in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 was called Durium Records

Durium Records

Durium Records was the name of two United Kingdom-based record labels.-Durium :Durium Records was a United Kingdom-based record label of the 1930s. Its product and marketing were similar to that of the United States record company Hit of the Week Records...

.

"Hit of the Week" was an attempt to produce a product for the tighter budgets of customers during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

. The label debuted in February of 1930. Unlike other records, it was sold at news-stands, not record stores. As the name implied, new records came out at the rate of one each week

Week

A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...

. Retailing at 15 cents

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

 each, "Hit of the Week"s were the cheapest new record available. The unusual Durium material helped set the "Hit of the Week"s apart. Other than a tendency to have a low-frequency rumble, audio fidelity was equal to or better than the usual records of the time. Also unusual, "Hit of the Week"s were pressed with music on only one side of the disc, a practice most other labels had abandoned a generation earlier, and they were issued in very flimsy rice-paper sleeves, few of which have survived. Some editions of "Hit of the Week" contained explanatory text or the artist's portrait printed on the flat back of the disc.

"Hit of the Week Records" were initially very successful. By the summer of 1930, up to half a million copies of each week's record were produced to fill demand. However as the Depression became even worse, sales of even the inexpensive "Hit of the Week"s slumped. In March of 1931 the company went into receivership. In May of that year they were purchased by the Irwin Wasey Advertising Agency. New "Hit of the Week" records debuted in August, now with two songs or dance tunes on each single-sided disc, with five minutes of total playing time. However, as the economy continued to contract, the label was unable to turn a profit (the price was raised to 20 cents

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

 by April), and the last "Hit of the Week"s were produced in June of 1932.

The advertising industry continued to make limited use of "Durium" records, mostly for advertising novelties, through the 1930s (these were 5" and as small as 3" advertising records; many specimens are found with a mailing address and postage on the reverse side).

Among popular artists of the time who recorded for "Hit of the Week Records" were Gene Austin

Gene Austin

Gene Austin was an American singer and songwriter, one of the first "crooners". His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "The Lonesome Road" became pop and jazz standards.-Career:...

, Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

 (as Harlem Hot Chocolates), Eddie Cantor

Eddie Cantor

Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...

, Morton Downey

Morton Downey

Morton Downey was a singer popular in the United States, enjoying his greatest success in the 1930s and 1940s. Downey was nicknamed "The Irish Nightingale".-Early years:...

, and Rudy Vallee

Rudy Vallée

Rudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...

.