I would have to say what my buddy Prince did with his Musicology Album. He gave away a copy of his new CD Musicology during his US Tour. Every person attending the concert got a "free" cd with each concert ticket. Not only did this count towards his record sales but they were also included in SoundScan numbers.
MUSICOLOGY WEEKLY Sales
Week One – 191,000
Week Two – 173,000
Week Three – 150,000
Week Four – 76,637
Week Five – 42,000
Week Six - 71,000
Week Seven – 93,000
Week Eight – 75,363
Week Nine – 81,261
Week Ten – 92,000
Week Eleven – 55,739
Week Twelve– 25,000
Week Thirteen – 74,000
Week Fourteen – 79,157
Week Fifteen – 58,000
Week Sixteen - 73,000
Total – 1,410,157 copies sold
He made $7 for every album he gave away at the concerts. To put things into perspective Usher sold more albums during that time period but he only made around $1.35 per album. Even if "usher" would have doubled the traditional sales he wouldn't even come close to what Prince accomplished. Do the math.
This upset so many record company execs that no other artist will be able to do this in the future. They may be able to give away music but future giveaways would not count towards sales and SoundScan numbers. Many people think this was sneaky but I think it was creative genius. Cut out the middle man and give it away to everyone and still make a profit. Doesn't get better than that.
This may not be what you were looking for "stitchy" but it is creative marketing.
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