McFly CD lifts newspaper's sales

McFly have had seven UK number one singles since 2004

A giveaway of the new McFly album in this week's Mail on Sunday newspaper boosted circulation by 300,000, the publication has said.

Early figures reveal that 2.4m copies of the paper were shifted on Sunday, along with copies of the chart-topping boyband's latest CD Radio:ACTIVE.

But sales failed to match the 600,000 additional copies it sold when Prince's Planet Earth was given away in 2007.

A deluxe version of McFly's record is being released in September.

Criticism

Stephen Miron, The Mail on Sunday's managing director, said he was "very proud" of the tie-in with McFly.

He added that it was the first time that the newspaper had collaborated with a contemporary band.

The Mail on Sunday has also given away albums by Sir Paul McCartney, Simply Red and UB40.

Last week, a Barry Manilow greatest hits compilation was offered by the newspaper, which also resulted in a circulation lift of 280,000 - or 20,000 copies short of McFly's edition.

Mr Miron said further CD promotions were in the pipeline, which would "surprise people".

Some music industry analysts have criticised the Mail on Sunday's ploy, saying it could starve record labels of money needed to develop new talent.