Diddy's Stream Counts Are Booming — But Why?

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 increase sharply 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 increase 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 kind 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, refusing to believe the allegations. According to Mel Stanfill, associate professor of English at the University of Central Florida, “There's probably a swath of people that are trying to support him because they don't believe the accusations are true.”

Often, survivors of sexual assault and violence committed by “rich and famous people,” are already not believed by the public. This can be made even worse when the famous person's legal team asserts the allegations are false; comments made by Combs' legal team have repeatedly insisted the victims are “just trying to get some money” out of it.

In January 2019, when the documentary Surviving R. Kelly debuted, chronicling the singer's history of sexual violence towards young women and girls, his music streams increased tremendously. Nielsen Music data reports that his music streams doubled during that period, exceeding 1.73 million streams. Likewise, his album sales increased by 500% after he was found guilty of child sexual abuse.

It's notable in both cases that any public backlash towards the artists hasn't led to any significant action from streaming platforms. While some radio stations have stopped playing Combs' music, it's still widely available on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.

In Kelly's case, Spotify and Apple Music stopped promoting his songs on featured playlists, but kept his music available. YouTube removed his official channels in 2021, but his music remains on the platform.

Meanwhile, a YouTube spokesperson said the platform suspended Combs from their partner program, meaning he cannot earn money from advertising, but his music and channel still remain on the platform.

Ultimately, the choice to stream Combs' music is beneficial to his finances. Due to his large catalog, increased streams could result in “hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional income,” according to Holt. As time goes on, the streams will likely dwindle public interest in Combs and the case wanes. Holt concludes: “That's just the reality of humanity, unfortunately, and also the power of streaming platforms.”