By Philip Cosores
If Marvin Gaye‘s victory over Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke did one thing (besides earn the late singer’s family a boatload of cash), it brought the beloved R&B icon back to the musical forefront. And, thanks to Billboard (via The A.V. Club), we now have quantifiable proof at just how valuable press can be.
Related: Marvin Gaye Family Wins ‘Blurred Lines’ Lawsuit, Awarded $7 Million
Marvin Gaye’s “Got To Give It Up,” the song that “Blurred Lines” (arguably) rips off saw its download sales increase 246%, with 10,000 downloads last week alone. That was enough to achieve a ranking of No. 18 on the R&B Digital Songs chart.
As for album sales, Gaye’s greatest hits collection, Number 1’s, moved 4,000 copies last week to suddenly appear on the Billboard 200 out of nowhere, ranking 175 on the chart. Not bad for a 17-song collection originally released in 2007.
As for Williams and Thicke, neither saw a bump in sales from the news story, with Williams holding around the 100 marker for his last release G I R L and Thicke nowhere in sight on the charts.
