Diddy’s Stream Counts Are Booming — But Why?

Views: 1789

Photo Credit: Sean “Diddy” Combs for Cannes Lion Learnings / CC by 3.0

Disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is in federal custody and accused of numerous cases of sexual abuse. So why are his music streams booming?

There’s a strange phenomenon where disgraced musicians facing public outcry for allegations of sexual violence suddenly find their music largely unaffected — or in some cases, booming in popularity. Such was the case for Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, R&B singer R. Kelly, and now music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Despite losing at least 18 brand partnerships, television deals, and other business opportunities, the Bad Boy Records founder and CEO has seen his music streams sharply increase following highly public accusations of sexual assault, including by minors.

His monthly listeners on Spotify climbed from 9.6 million on September 18, when news of his arrest became public, to 13.2 million a month later, according to data from Chartmetric. Similarly, views on Combs’ YouTube channel increased by 7 million views to over 700 million during that same period. Data from Luminate reveals streams of Combs’ catalog overall increased by nearly 50%.

Problematic artists can see a sharp increased in their streaming numbers for multiple reasons, not least of all curiosity. “People might see a news story and wonder, ‘What kind of music has this person done? Am I familiar with it?’” said Serona Elton, professor and director of the Music Industry Program at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Streaming, therefore, can serve as an exploration of the sort of person Combs is, rather than “an actual desire to experience the music,” adds Elton.

Nostalgia can also temporarily drive engagement, with fans wanting to listen to a popular song “one more time” before no longer engaging with that artist. Streaming boosts can also occur as people return to an artist’s music to see if it provides any insight into their behavior, which is further increased by the prevalence of memes. “There are tons of memes on Instagram and TikTok where [users say], ‘Oh this is what [Diddy] was talking about when he said this line or that line,’” said Eric Holt, associate professor of music business at Belmont University.

Some still may be streaming Combs’ music in an effort to support him, … Read More