NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Sean 鈥淒iddy鈥 Combs鈥 vast music catalog has seen a jump in streams since his arrest last week and the unsealing of an indictment against him.
Under his many musical monikers 鈥 including Diddy, Puff Daddy and P. Diddy 鈥 the industry data and analytics company Luminate said the mogul鈥檚 music saw an average 18.3% increase in on-demand streams during the week of his arrest compared to the prior week.
George Howard, a distinguished professor of music business management at Berklee College of Music, said he's not surprised by the increase. To him, streaming is akin to a Google search of the artist as a means of satisfying curiosity.
鈥淢usic just becomes another piece of information as people try to comprehend the atrocities,鈥 Howard told The Associated Press. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like, 鈥榃hat would someone whose brain works like that, allegedly, what would their music sound like?鈥欌
With Combs' several business ventures 鈥 from Revolt TV to , both of which he's no longer affiliated with 鈥 Howard said many people likely think of Combs as a businessman before they think of him as a musician.
鈥淭he natural curiosity that these types of charges evoke makes sense,鈥 Howard said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like driving by a car crash. People want to look.鈥
An increase in streaming numbers following controversy is not uncommon. After a documentary about accused the R&B singer of sexual misconduct involving women and underage girls, his .
Howard said the 鈥渁nonymization鈥 of streaming is also a factor that could have led to the increases for Combs and Kelly alike. 鈥淚magine walking into a record store now like, 鈥榊eah, I want to buy this Diddy CD,鈥欌 he said.
Combs is charged with federal sex trafficking and racketeering and the indictment, which details allegations dating back to 2008, accuses him of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years 鈥渢o fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.鈥 He's to the charges.
