Sales of Chris Brown's album Fortune may have actually been boosted by prank labels warning customers that he "beats women", it has been claimed.
Images showing copies of the 'Don't Wake Me Up' singer's LP carrying the warnings, which refer to his 2009 assault on then-girlfriend Rihanna, went viral last week after pranksters targeted the shelves of an HMV store outside London.
A representative for the company has now said that while the protestors "got their point across pretty effectively", they may have inadvertently revived interest in the album, which was released over two months ago.
"We were as surprised as anyone when the stickers appeared," the spokesperson stated.
"Obviously someone must have snuck in to put them on a handful of CDs, and although they weren't up very long before staff removed them, the person responsible managed to take a snap and send it out to media.
"I guess they got their point across pretty effectively - with widespread coverage around the world, though, by the same token, quite a few more people now know there's a new Chris Brown album out."
The warning labels appeared shortly after Brown was thought to have gotten a tattoo of Rihanna's beaten face on his neck. The inking was later revealed to be of a Mexican 'sugar skull'.
Brown is set to face questions over how much of the community service to which he was sentenced in the Rihanna case was actually served.
