While some brands pay millions to have rappers endorse their brands, others reap the benefits of their scorn, for free! In June, Jay-Z released his game-changing “D.O.A.” track, calling for the official death of the T-Pain-voice-sounding trend that infested hip hop and r&b. The song was an instant hit and many predicted that it would definitely influence the industry, but not like this. The company responsible for the Auto-Tune software is happy to announce that its sales are up, thanks in part to the controversy the mogul-rapper has generated. The VP of marketing is ecstatic about being in the cross hairs, but really appreciates the cost effectiveness: “We couldn’t buy P.R. like this.” |ArtsBeat/NYT|