Most artists promote their music with social media posts, awards show performances, and music videos. For some, however, that isn't enough.
Here are 13 wild and ridiculous publicity stunts artists and labels pulled off to promote their music:
1. To coincide with the release of his "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" music video in 2021, Lil Nas X teamed up with MSCHF to release limited-edition "Satan Shoes" — Nike Air Max 97 with a drop of actual human blood in their soles. Nike itself was not involved with the project.
Lil Nas X responded to backlash over the shoes with jokes. For example, after South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem tweeted that "we are in a fight for the soul of our nation," he replied, "ur a whole governor and u on here tweeting about some damn shoes. do ur job!"
2. In 2012, Justin Bieber posted a series of tweets alleging that he "had some stuff stolen," including "personal footage," during a concert. Then, an anonymous Twitter user named "gexwy" posted that they had the secret video, feuded with the singer, and announced plans to "show the world." The secret video the account shared turned out to be Justin's music video for "Beauty and a Beat" featuring Nicki Minaj.
Finally sharing the music video, the supposed thief tweeted, "told you I would post something WORTH watching and talking about @justinbieber @NICKIMINAJ."
3. In 2016, band/real-life couple Yacht claimed that their sex tape had been stolen and leaked without their consent, so they decided to sell it themselves for $5 in order to "take some kind of ownership over what has happened." However, the whole thing turned out to be a stunt to promote the music video for their song "I Wanna Fuck You Til I'm Dead."
The hoax was uncovered through an email that band member Claire L. Evans sent to someone at Gawker Media and reported by Jezebel.
People who tried to buy and download their video reportedly received an error message.
The band's PR company, Motormouthmedia, denied involvement, tweeting, "It's time to state this. We are not involved in the Yacht situation in any way the idea was devised and executed 100% without us."
The next day, following backlash, Claire and her partner/bandmate, Jona Bechtolt, released an apology statement. It read, "First off, we’re sorry. The reaction to this endeavor highlights a glaring error we made in positioning ourselves as the victims of a leaked sex tape. We understand that positioning it that way from the beginning was an egregious mistake, and are so ashamed we hadn’t considered this beforehand. Yes, this was all a 'hoax' or 'PR stunt,' and one we were so excited to share. While there is inherent deception in pulling a hoax, it was never our intention to mock or make light of anyone who has been a victim of a privacy violation like the one we mentioned... After all is said and done, of course you should be mad at us. We’re mad at us, too."
4. In 1999, the Austrian Press Agency announced the death of pianist Friedrich Gulda. However, soon after, the outlet retracted the report. A few days later, he informed journalists that he was indeed alive and planning to play at his "resurrection party." He'd reportedly faxed in the previous death announcement himself.
He died for real less than a year later.
5. In 1994, two years after announcing their retirement live on stage at the BRIT Awards, The KLF traveled to the Scottish island of Jura and burned £1 million in cash they'd earned through their music.
Member Bill Drummond told the Guardian, "It wasn't about burning all the money. And it wasn't about cleansing anyone's soul. In this context, a million is a lot more than two million. A million is the icon. It's what we talk about, dream about. It has the power."
He also said that he didn't regret it.
You can watch the video below:
View this video on YouTube
6. In 2022, Lana Del Rey only put up one billboard to promote her upcoming album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd — in Tulsa, Oklahoma, her ex Sean Larkin's hometown.
In the comments, she said, "It's. Personal."
7. During Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977, the Sex Pistols debuted their song "God Save the Queen" — which rhymed "queen" with "fascist regime" — by performing on a boat while floating down the Thames.
City police ended their performance early, and the song itself caused so much controversy that some people attacked the band members in public.
8. To promote his song "Take It to the Head" in 2013, DJ Khaled publicly proposed to Nicki Minaj — who was featured on the track — on MTV.
Nicki told Hot 97's Funkmaster Flex, "I was shocked just like the rest of the world. I was cracking up laughing with the rest of the world 'cause Khaled is a master at what he does... It was just another way for him to kinda give the world a glimpse on the feeling of this record. Nobody in my real life took it seriously. Everybody just hit me like, 'LOL. Yo, Khaled is crazy.' ... He was kidding. He's not attracted to me, he doesn't like me. We're brother and sister."
Here's the full video:
View this video on YouTube
9. In 2010, Gang of Four sold vials of their own blood in order to fund their album Content. The vials came with the band's artwork depicting the last 40 years of world history as well as a scratch and sniff book. The box set cost £45.
Additionally, they offered a helicopter trip to Glastonbury Festival with the band and a cassette recording of their first-ever gig in a Walkman decorated by members Andy Gill and Jon King.
They donated a portion of the proceeds to Amnesty UK and Plan International.
10. To promote their 1996 single "If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You," Super Furry Animals asked their label, Creation, to "buy an armed vehicle and put a sound system in it," in lieu of expensive ad placements. A week later, Creation procured a tank for about £10,000. The band got their name and song title painted on it, set up the sound system, then took it with them on the festival circuit.
Lead singer Gruff Rhys told Vice, "The tank kind of ran its course. It was so successful in creating publicity. Our record plugger found a bylaw where you could drive armed vehicles around London between four and six in the morning. So he drove the tank to Radio 1 and parked it outside and plugged the record. It got A-listed. So after a summer of taking it around to festivals, we felt we needed to move on. I mean, it was difficult to store. We stored it at a guy from the record company's brother's field. It was a bit of a pain, so we put it up for sale... Don Henley collects armed vehicles, and this was one that he didn't have. He got it shipped over to his ranch in Texas. But he had no interest in the band, and I think he got it painted back to its original colors. It was just a weird kind of epilogue."
11. At 10:30 on a Tuesday morning in 2010, Imperial Stars blocked traffic by parking a big box van bearing their logo across four of the five lanes on the US 101 near Sunset Boulevard in LA. The driver took the keys and left in another vehicle before the band climbed up and played "Traffic Jam 101." By noon, the band was arrested, and the truck was towed.
The stunt ended up causing a mile-long traffic jam.
The next day, guitarist Keith Yackey told KPCC's Alex Cohen, "We were thinking we needed to do something big to grab the attention of the American people to this cause of the 1.5 million homeless children... A lot of people will second guess our motives, but we put our money where our mouth is."
Two years later, the three members each pled no contest to "one felony charge of conspiracy and misdemeanor charges of creating a public nuisance and resisting or obstructing law enforcement," according to the OC Register.
Additionally, in 2013, a judge ruled that they had to pay Caltrans (the California Department of Transportation) a $39,350 restitution fee.
Here's a video of the stunt:
View this video on YouTube
12. To promote his 1995 album HIStory, Michael Jackson commissioned several 32-ft. statues of himself to be displayed around the world, including one that floated down the Thames River in London and another down the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
They were made of steel and fiberglass.
13. And finally, in 1969, The Beatles played their very last show together on the roof of Apple Corps, their London building. They played for an audience of friends, family, and cameras for 42 minutes before the police shut it down.
As the show ended, John Lennon reportedly said, "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition."
The performance was filmed as the finale for the band's documentary, Let It Be.
Here's a clip of the band performing "Don't Let Me Down":
