I love Julie Adenuga’s Beats1 show, airing in the UK between 2 and 4pm every weekday. I try and listen to as many as I can, usually on demand, and there’s often little snippets of conversation that make you laugh or make you sit up and take notice.

On Friday’s show, where Example and Rebecca Judd joined Julie in the studio to take a look at the new releases that day, there was an example of the latter. Example was discussing the time he bought a car for a fan – as you do – and his co-hosts were sharing their shock and awe at such a kind gesture. Example was having none of it though:

Example: I bought them a proper car, year. It was a PR stunt, but you know he tweeted me and said ‘I can’t listen to your new mixtape because it’s not going to be on CD and I’ve only got a CD player’ and I said ‘Well, I’ll just buy you a new car with an aux cable’ and people were like ‘why don’t you just buy him a new stereo?’ and I was like ‘well that’s not a very interesting PR stunt, is it?’

But I tell you why, because if you go on social media, say on Instagram, and you want to promote your post promoting your new mixtape or album or whatever. Instagram, they only let, say 20% of your fans see your post. So you have to promote the post. So if you want, say, I’ve got half a million followers, if you want all of them you have to spend about four and a half grand for everyone to see the post. So why not just buy a car for a fan for three grand instead? Money well spent. You haven’t got to pay the corporation and everyone gets to see the post. Because what will happen is the post goes viral because everyone comments and likes it.

Rebecca: Are you allowed to be saying all this?

Julie: It’s Example!

Example: I’m just telling you I’ve worked out the system. I beat the algorithm.

Really interesting way to beat the system and give your love straight to the fans. Or at least one very lucky fan, anyway.