Just days after R. Kelly was found guilty of kidnapping, racketeering and sexual exploitation of a child, his music sales have skyrocketed.
According to Rolling Stone, the disgraced singer saw “double-digit growth” in streams and “triple-digit growth” in sales. From Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, Kelly’s on-demand audio plays increased by 22 percent, while his video streams increased by 23 percent compared to the previous week. His album sales jumped by 517 percent and his streams skyrocketed from 11.2 million to 13.4 million, said the outlet.
As REVOLT previously reported, YouTube deleted two of the Chicago native’s official music channels from the platform after his conviction.
“We can confirm that we have terminated two channels linked to R. Kelly in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines,” a spokesperson for YouTube told Bloomberg.
Per the company’s “creator responsibility guidelines,” YouTube can remove a content creator for “on- and/or off-platform behavior that we may consider to be inappropriate.” The rules also say that a YouTube user can be penalized for “participating in abuse or violence, demonstrating cruelty or participating in fraudulent/deceptive behavior leading to real world harm.”
The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer is also banned from ever using YouTube again. However, his music is still on YouTube Music and other streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify.
Last month, Kelly was found guilty on one count of racketeering, with 14 underlying acts that included sexual exploitation of a child, bribery, kidnapping and sex trafficking charges. Additionally, he was also convicted of eight counts of violations of the Mann Act, a sex trafficking law. Several people testified during the trial that they were sexually abused by the 12 Play singer when they were underage. He was also accused of illegally marrying Aaliyah when she was only 15 years old.
Kelly’s sentencing is scheduled for May 4.