Phil Spector: Now a Convict Marketing Hook for His Wife's New Album

Street cred can be a powerful marketing tool, but in the music business, prison cred is often a real trump card when it comes to moving product.
I can't help wondering what it'll do for Rachelle Spector, a wanna-be pop star who married legendary music producer and Wall of Sound creator Phil Spector, now serving 19 years-to-life for the shooting death of a struggling actress. Her first CD, "Out of My Chelle," carries this stamp: "A Phil Spector Production."
There are precedents galore, especially in the hip hop world, where the thug life has consistently helped draw in customers. Suge Knight, 50 Cent and the late Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG all traded on their behind-bars notoriety as a way to sell records. Rapper Akon, whose singles include "Locked Up" and "Konvicted," has bragged about a three-year prison sentence, even though the details are shaky at best. (Even fudging on a criminal record doesn't hurt an artists' popularity). And current chart-topper T.I., released this spring from federal prison, starred in an MTV reality show that was part autobiography and part "Scared Straight."
There's also Johnny Cash, who cultivated an outlaw image and cemented his fame with live recordings at Folsom and San Quentin prisons -- but he was just a visitor, never a resident.
Rachelle Spector, who married the music producer after the murder of Lana Clarkson but before his conviction, has said publicly that the two worked on her CD while he was free on bail and that he shaped, co-wrote, produced and arranged it. A few of his industry friends and colleagues, quoted in the L.A. Times, seemed to cast some doubt on that, saying they couldn't confirm the collaboration.
We won't have to wait long to see what the Phil Spector imprimatur will or won't do for his wife's music career. The song will be available next week for digital download and the CD will launch following month for sale online.
I'm predicting a tepid Kevin Federline-level of interest, even with the lurid advertising hook.
NOTE: This is a guest post by Terry Stanley.