5. Giving Weekly Free Tracks From The Album The Pretenders/Kanye West
Legends from the 70s and 80s don't exactly have a reputation for being inventive with their music; it's generally considered that bands that are still going are simply cashing in on former glories, or reuniting to cash in on huge ticket sales. But whilst a lot of music fans probably don't realise that the Pretenders are still going into the 21st Century, the band's 2008 record, 'Break Up The Concrete' was massively innovative in its release. The band released free tracks from the album in advance, giving fans a weekly taster of what was in store for the album. It's a technique that was later taken up by Kanye West who started the G.O.O.D. Fridays initiative in 2010; West released a track every week from his website, from August until December, and many of the tracks made his 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' album. Swizz Beatz later followed suit, taking a Monday slot before Timbaland Tuesdays. Kanye West in particular didn't actually benefit from the free downloads scheme; 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' had significantly lower sales than his previous records. Following records have been considerably more secretive.