R. Kelly’s Music Sales Jump 500 Percent Following Conviction
R. Kelly’s album sales and streams have reached a new high after he was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Rolling Stone reports the disgraced singer’s album sales increased 517 percent since the verdict came down on September 27. More specifically, Kelly’s music saw double-digit growth in streams and triple-digit growth in sales.
In the week following his guilty verdict, Kelly’s on-demand audio streams were up 22 percent, while video streams were up 23 percent compared to the previous seven days. Overall, his streams increased from 11.2 million to 13.4 million, according to Rolling Stone.
The sales and streaming numbers come as YouTube announced earlier this week that it was removing two of Kelly’s official video channels – RKellyTV and his Vevo account. That said, the video streaming service will continue to offer Kelly’s catalog on its audio arm, YouTube Music.
Despite the horrific and graphic details that have emerged over the past few years and during his New York trial, R. Kelly’s streaming numbers have not taken a hit. In 2017, he averaged around 5.4 million on-demand audio streams per week. Those numbers have increased to 6.4 million this year.
