Paul Wall and Chamillionaire once said controversy sells, and no one knows this better than Kanye West and Taylor Swfit. Now, with both artists gearing up to release highly anticipated albums this fourth quarter, Swift’s label has opened up about how their 2009 incident at the MTV Video Music Award. Scott Borchetta, the president of Swift’s label Big Machine, said the incident brought a lot of attention to her music, making it the best selling album of 2009.
“The Kanye incident brought attention to Taylor, to an audience that did not really know her or her music,” said Borchetta. “And when they did check it out, they discovered that they really liked it.” (WSJ.com)
Swift’s record sales in 2009 further confirm the impact of Ye’s outburst. Her self-titled 2006 debut topped out at 4,821,000 units sold, while in the wake of the VMAs, her 2008 release Fearless jumped to 6,027,000 units. And now, it looks like Mr. West is helping to launch her into third album Speak Now, as the single “Innocent” dealt with the fiasco at the VMAs.
“Well, [the incident] affected her to the point that she wrote a song about it,” said Borchetta. “So obviously it was a big moment in her life. Did it change her? Does he have more fear of things like that happening at awards shows? No. She’s a tough person and she’s very open.” (WSJ.com)
