Licensing and publishing promo samplers are put together by music publishers (who are responsible for ensuring the songwriters receive payment when their compositions are used commercially) with the aim of making an artist's work known to potential clients such as advertisers or music directors working in the film/tv industry.

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
[UK Warner/Chappell Music Limited 2-cd]
This 2-cd package put together in 2004 features one cd of Smiths music and one cd of Morrissey music. Each cd features 12 tracks, from obvious classics to lesser known album tracks. The front and back artwork are variations on the artwork of Morrissey's solo single "Irish Blood, English Heart" (view front artwork and back artwork). The packaging is a gatefold card slipcase that can fit one cd in each panel. The gatefold inner side is brown with white text. The left side shows the track listing of cd1 which has the Smiths tracks. The right side shows the track listing of cd2 which has the Morrissey tracks. Composer credits appear at the bottom on each side. Both cds are brown with white text. "CD1" or "CD2" appears at the top, just above "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out". A Warner/Chappell logo is found at the left, a Warner/Chappell credit on the right and "The Music Of The Smiths" or "The Music Of The Morrissey" at the bottom. Copyright warnings are printed around the edges.

Universal Music Publishing Group Presents The Smiths
[USA Universal Music Publishing Group cd]
This sampler put together in 2005 is packed at full capacity with 23 songs by the Smiths. It comes in a standard cd jewel case. The front shows a press photo of the band as well as contact information for Universal Music Publishing Group (view). There are actually two different variations of the front artwork. In one case the Universal logo in the bottom left corner is bigger (as link above), and in the other case it is slightly smaller but has the words "Universal Music Publishing Group" beneath it. The back shows a photo of the band saturated in dark green, with the track listing printed over it in white (view). Again there are two variations of it, different only by the UMPG logo in the bottom left corner. The reverse of the insert shows an illustrated partial discography of the band featuring the 4 studio albums, the "Hatful Of Hollow", "Louder Than Bombs" and "Singles" compilations as well as the "This Charming Man" cd-single reissue from 1992. The disc surface shows the yellow flowers from the front artwork over a white background. The sampler title appears at the top, UMPG logos left and right, and a promo warning at the bottom.

The Smiths
[UK Universal Music Publishing Group 2-cd]
This publishing sampler produced in 2006 is without doubt the most beautiful one to collect. The packaging is like a hardcover book. The artwork was adapted from the artwork originally used by Morrissey in the design of the album "The World Won't Listen". The front shows a untinted version of the latter compilation's original photo with "The Smiths" at the top in a rich shade of turquoise (view). The photo is not cropped as much as on the album and shows all of the boy on the left and the people in the background. The back shows a close-up of the latter boy on the left with the track listing printed over it in white (view). A grey Universal Music Publishing Group logo appears in the top left corner and their contact address at the bottom. When opened (view), the left side shows a turquoise tinted close-up of the two lads that were cropped out of the artwork for "The World Won't Listen". Quotes from famous artists who were influenced by the Smiths are printed in white over the bottom half. The right side shows a turquoise tinted close-up of the people in the background, with two circular 'trays' in which are found the cds. These discs (viewable through the latter link) are mostly white with "The Smiths" and "Disc One" or "Disc Two" in turquoise at the left. Legal warnings are printed around the edges.

The Music Of The Smiths: 1983-1987
[USA Chrysalis Music Group 2-cd: SC0304]
The year of production of this double cd set is unknown. The packaging is a thin double jewel case (the size of a regular jewel case). The front artwork is a press photo of the band over a white background with the sampler's title above and a Chrysalis Music Group USA logo beneath (view). The back is white and shows the track listing, credits and Chrysalis Music Group contact information (view). The spines are blue with white and black text. The insert is a folded one with contact information of four people working for Chrysalis Music Publishing on its back. The discs look like cd-rs with white paper labels (confirmation needed). The title appears in black at the top, above either "Disc One: 1983-1985" or "Disc Two: 1986-1987". A Chrysalis Music Group USA logo appears at the bottom.