Up the Punx: Lame-O Records Makes It Fun, Keeps It Relevant
No frills, back-to-basics, hard-hitting. These are all things you could use to describe the punk rock scene — and also a recent email that I received from punk record label Lame-O Records. In a community that typically spits in the face of commercialism, somebody's gotta make and sell the records, and Lame-O does a pretty good job of it, staying true to the aesthetic and values embodied by the artists they represent.
Their first-ever newsletter looks like something that was put together by someone who's running a business out of a studio apartment — which might make seasoned email marketers cringe, but will resonate with punks around the country. Intentional or not, the somewhat sloppy design plays right into Lame-O's hand. After all, even the punks need marketing, whether they know it or not.
Jeremy Zimmerman is the Editorial Assistant at Direct Marketing IQ. Reach him at jzimmerman@napco.com.

Even though it might not use a one-click unsubscribe, it's still complying with relevant anti-spam laws by giving the reader an option. As long as Lame-O is properly removing and scrubbing their lists, this is a perfectly acceptable option — and makes things more interesting than a boring "Unsubscribe from this email" hyperlink.

