Mariah Carey‘s Sept. 15 release of “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” will be a historic one.  Perhaps setting a trend and confirming a movement I predicted several years ago, her Island Def Jam release will be the first major music release to integrate printed ads into artists’ CD booklets.

Billboard reports that the 34-page mini-magazine insert is a colaborative effort with Elle magazine that target a common demographic using “lifestyle ads” featuring high end brands such as Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, Carmen Steffens, Le Métier de Beauté and the Bahamas Board of Tourism, all current clients of the printed magazine.

Island Def Jam is using the Carey project as a beta test for a much larger marketing strategy which will include similar cooperative efforts for artists like Rihanna, Bon Jovi and Kanye West who currently have projects in the works.

While the insert displays ads it reportedly is not just a sponsored tracklisting.  The piece is saide to read like an abrievieted Mariah-centric copy of Elle magazine featuring an editorial pieces entitled “VIP Access to Her Sexy Love Life,” “Amazing Closet,” and “Recording Rituals.”

Carey was “very open” to the concept when Island Def Jam chairman Antonio “L.A.” Reid showed her a mock-up of the booklet in a magazine format that included brand imagery synonymous with her lifestyle. “I wouldn’t want to do Mariah Carey and Comet abrasive cleaner,” Reid said, laughing. “I wanted things that really reflected her taste.”

The special edition mini-mag will be available digitally for iTunes and other platforms.  A condensed 14 page edition of the mag will also inserted into subsciber copies of Elle’s October issue.

While this likely won’t revive Mariah’s career, it just may put her in the music marketing history books.  Since the inception of digital music, Napster revolution and subsequent music industry depression I’ve advocated that the industry turn to advertisers to subsidize their income.   With the fear of revolting thier fan base, music executives dragged their feet and revenues nosedived anyway.  With Apple now not only looming as big brother in technology but music as well and the recession mashing its foot on the neck of industry execs, they’ve finally tapped out. 

While there has always been a fear of a tasteless advertising influx, if evidence by this Mariah experiment, Def Jam and the inevitable copycats looming might just be on to something.  The partnership with the struggling magazine industry is ingenious.  It enables the label to focus on what it does best while the magazine extends its offerings to its current client base creating more value.  I plan to buy a copy just to see what it look like.