Mmmmmm.....cheese toast.....
word of mouth is the best way of getting people introduced to Devin Townsend. That's all, no more, no less.
But you can't just say "thats the best way to do it because thats how I did it." It doesn't work like that because not everyone has a brother or sister or a friend who likes Dev and can burn them a cd. Not everyone likes bands related to Dev. So by this fan generated word mouth thing, those people just miss out. They might like him, they might hate him. But if they don't hear it they'll never know. Why not give the opportunity to those people as well?
An idea like Ppinkhams is just about supporing the artist so he can do more. If people are worried about what being mainstream would mean...it shouldn't make any difference. If they're asking themselves that, they should really think about why they listen to Dev in the first place.