Diddy’s music has seen an increase in streams since the rapper was arrested and charged last week for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, reported an 18.3% increase in on-demand streams of Diddy’s music in the week he was arrested in comparison to the week prior, according to the Associated Press.
An increase in streaming numbers following controversy is not uncommon.
After a documentary about R Kelly accused the R&B singer of sexual misconduct involving women and underage girls, his numbers nearly doubled.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been charged with federal sex trafficking and racketeering and the charge, which details allegations dating back to 2008, accuses him of abusing, threatening and coercing women for years ‘to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.’
Diddy’s music has seen an increase in streams since the rapper was arrested last week on sex trafficking and racketeering charges
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He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Diddy, whose net worth was estimated to be $400 million by Forbes in June, has music available on a variety of streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, TIDAL, and YouTube Music.
On Spotify, an artist can earn as low as $0.0033 per stream, Business Insider reported in 2020. His Spotify profile currently states he receives 9,758,290 monthly listens.
The increased streams is an interesting development as demand for Diddy’s music plummeted after video of Diddy beating his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016 was released by CNN.
The Hollywood Reporter compared the periods of time directly after Cassie filed her bombshell lawsuit against him in November 2023 to the release of the video in May 2024.
The outlet reported that in comparison to the first week of December, which was two weeks following the filing of the lawsuit that was quickly settled, streams for music under the stage name Diddy decreased by 51.8 percent.
Citing Luminate, THR noted streams for ‘Diddy’ – Sean Combs’ latest stage name – dropped from 2,624,000 to 1,265,000.
Diddy, whose net worth was estimated to be $400 million by Forbes in June, has music available on a variety of streaming platforms, including Spotify, Amazon Music, TIDAL, and YouTube Music
On Spotify, an artist can earn as low as $0.0033 per stream, Business Insider reported in 2020. His Spotify profile currently states he receives 9,758,290 monthly listens
In November, Ventura filed a lawsuit saying he had beaten and raped her for years.
She accused Combs of coercing her and others into unwanted sex in drug-fueled settings. The suit was settled in one day.
Last Monday, Diddy was arrested and was soon denied bail by a judge after he used both his and his mother’s homes in Miami – worth $50 million – as collateral.
On Wednesday, he lost an appeal to overturn the decision and will remain in custody while pending trial.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is currently being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center following his indictment for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Diddy pictured in 2016
In the indictment against Diddy that was unsealed this week, it was claimed that federal raids on his Miami and Los Angeles mansions led to the discovery of over 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant.
It is alleged that the rapper would coerce and manipulate victims into taking part in days-long sexual performances, which he dubbed ‘freak offs.’
Diddy’s associates would allegedly ply victims with drugs to keep them compliant and would make threats against anyone refusing to engage, in claims similar to those made in a civil lawsuit brought by Diddy’s ex-girlfriend Cassie last year.
These allegations were central to prosecutors bringing sex trafficking charges against the producer, with observers noting that authorities are increasingly expanding the law to suit their cases against powerful defendants.
A step up in federal sex trafficking charges was passed by Congress in 2000 as an intentional step to take down prostitution rings and pimps, but the evolving nature of the charge has seen it more recently used to snare individuals like Keith Raniere.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is currently being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center following his indictment for sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution
Notably, Diddy has hired the same attorney, Marc Agnifilo, who has previously challenged the government’s expanding use of federal sex trafficking charges in Raniere’s 2019 trial that led to a 120-year sentence.
Raniere was the leader of the NXIVM cult, a self-help pyramid scheme that acted as a front for his various crimes, including sexual assault, sex trafficking, child pornography and forced labor.
At his trial, the cult leader’s legal team attempted to argue that federal sex trafficking charges were overstretched to fit his case – the same argument Mr. Agifilo made at Diddy’s bail hearing this week.
He claimed that the alleged ‘freak offs’ were merely the way Diddy was ‘intimate’ with people, and accused prosecutors of overstepping and ‘coming into this man’s bedroom.’
‘Is it sex trafficking? No, not if everybody wants to be there,’ Agnifilo said at the hearing.
After Diddy’s arrest, he was taken to Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center and has also been placed on suicide watch.
Sources informed DailyMail.com that the detention center is ‘standard for high-profile individuals.’.
After the indictment was unsealed, ‘baby oil’ quickly began trending worldwide with stunned fans posting memes. The baby oil and lubricant were allegedly used during the ‘freak offs.’