Say what you like about Katy Perry – she has creative ways of distracting you from her music.

Following her signature scent and of course, Katy Perry’s Pants, her latest single ‘Chained To The Rhythm’ was released as a limited edition mirrorball. Well, kind of – ok, a series of the glittery spheres appeared in various cities, with headphones attached which allowed the lucky passers-by to hear her new tune. I say ‘released’ – of course, you don’t get to just take one home, but such is the ephemeral of music nowadays that you’d be as much an owner of her record as you’d be if you gave it a listen on Spotify.

More traditionally-minded music-makers are trying to make the physical record experience a bit more, well, tactile and permanent?

Take David Bowie’s final release which has seen Ziggy still innovating from beyond the grave as Blackstar’s artwork keeps revealing hidden secrets (the most surprising aspect being how a fairly ordinary Last Shadow Puppets cover pipped it to the Album Art of the Year).

The importance of artwork is driven by the expanded nature of a 12” record, going back to the prog days of Hypgnosis and Roger Dean with their freakish acid-addled gatefold sleeves for the likes of Yes and Pink Floyd which complemented sprawling triple album sets.

And the vinyl itself offers more potential for ‘Gimmix’ – take the John Cooper-Clarke single released on triangular vinyl for no reason at all other than the title itself. The shock-haired punk poet also put out a 7” single entitled ‘Tw*t’, with two concentric grooves, and it was complete pot luck whether an unsuspecting DJ got the radio edit, or the sweary version.

Such engineering mastery could mean only one thing– a “Porky Prime Cut” by one George Peckham, who would carve his trademark signature in the run-off groove area at the single’s centre.

Not long afterwards, picture discs became the norm – these often sounded rotten, but looked great on your wall whether in the shape of a bat, a Highland warrior. or a pig carrying a ghettoblaster.

Then as we know, vinyl died and pressing plans became rare, and it’s only recently that small setups with home-cutting lathes are in use again.

Edinburgh art rockers Found released a chocolate single, while in the Midlands, ‘Thee Alex’ produces ultra-limited records – 5” albums, microSD releases, one-sided singles with the artwork etched on the reverse, and next up, a record that plays from the inside out in a limited edition of 7. And in a ultra-retro touch, the website’s only available in paperback.

Indeed, we’re now running out of things to do with vinyl. So perhaps we should move back into other formats. The annual Record Store Day has spawned Cassette Store Day – tapes usually come with a download code, though a free pencil might be more apt. In an odd piece of marketing SubPop Records – the legendary home of grunge – teamed up with Dr Martens to release a Valentine’s Day cassette… except, weirder still, the cassette casing housed a USB stick (and no tape).

This could be the start of curious formats hitting the mainstream. We already have albums ‘released’ on T shirts, though sadly not to be played on a turntable – the fluff would ruin your stylus – but instead coming with mp3s.

Similarly, the trowel that Bloke Music recently released may not trouble the charts, but could have done some damage if used in self-defence (m’lud) on the way home from the launch show. Mind you, not as much as Katy Perry’s single might do to your ears…