Music History Events: Clever Marketing
October 23, 2019 Coldplay reveal the tracklist for their upcoming album Everyday Life with a small classified ad on page 31 of the North Wales Daily Post.
January 20, 2019 Marking the 37th anniversary of that time he bit the head off a bat, Ozzy Osbourne's official store releases a plush bat with a detachable head.More
September 21, 2017 To thwart low payouts on YouTube, Post Malone releases a version of his latest single, "Rockstar," that is just the chorus looped five times. Comments are disabled, and users are offered a link to hear the full version on more profitable platforms.More
August 16, 2014 To announce Syro, his first Aphex Twin album in 13 years, Richard James arranges for a blimp to fly over London with his iconic logo on one side and the year on the other. The same logo is also spraypainted on New York sidewalks.
August 20, 2012 A Green Day version of the video game Angry Birds is released, featuring Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool as green pigs. Players can unlock a new Green Day song from the 10th level of the game.
June 18, 2011 In Bristow, Virgina, Rascal Flatts kick off their "Flatts Fest" tour, with karaoke, carnival games, mini golf and other entertainment in the hours before the show. As a tie-in with their song "Why Wait," there's also a wedding chapel.
September 24, 2008 Zippo launches their iPhone app, allowing concertgoers to hold up a virtual flame during songs like "Free Bird." It's downloaded over 5 million times its first year.
February 4, 2008 With digital delivery transforming the industry, some record companies package releases with additional goodies. The Virgin-owned Astralwerks label issues Laura Marling's debut album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, in what they call a "songbox" format, which includes a concert ticket and souvenirs representing each song along with the CD.
January 29, 2008 Prog rock band The Mars Volta release their album The Bedlam in Goliath. As a promotion, the band also gives away a CD-vinyl single, a special format with an optical side readable in CD players and a vinyl side that plays on a turntable for about three minutes. Both sides contain a cover of Pink Floyd's "Candy and a Currant Bun." The Bedlam in Goliath debuts at #3 on the Billboard 200.
July 15, 2007 Prince gives away free copies of his latest album Planet Earth with the UK newspaper Mail On Sunday. The unconventional distribution rankles record retailers, but helps promote his run of 21 shows at the O2 Arena in London, which sell out.
March 27, 2004 Prince kicks off his Musicology tour with a show in Reno, Nevada. The average ticket costs $61, which includes a copy of the Musicology album. These are counted as sales according to Billboard, so the album rises to #3 (his previous three albums failed to chart). The tour takes in $87.4 million, making it the highest-grossing of 2004.
February 19, 1996 For Presidents' Day, the rock band Presidents Of The United States Of America play a show at Mount Rushmore that's broadcast by MTV. It's hosted by the presidential MTV VJ, Kennedy.
November 22, 1994 Pearl Jam's third album, Vitalogy, is released, but only on vinyl. Two weeks later it is issued on CD.
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