By now you’ve probably seen it or at least heard of it. A wedding video featuring a choreographed dance routine as the bridal party enters the ceremony has received over 11 million views in 10 days.

What’s not surprising is how fast the video spread, nor is it surprising the group was invited to recreate the dance on Today. But the fact the song in the video - Chris Brown’s “Forever” - leaped into the top 10 on iTunes is surprising considering Brown’s career tumble after an assault scandal involving his ex-girlfriend Rihanna. According to Soundscan, “Forever” sales increased from 3,000 to 50,000 in one week, while sales of Brown’s 2008 album Exclusive went up 130%.

What does this mean for artists and record labels? For starters, it means they should stop the ridiculous censoring and silencing of YouTube videos that feature even the slightest snippets of their songs.

Just this month, Warner Music Group - perhaps the most prolific censor - removed the audio from a popular Keyboard Cat/Hall & Oates mash-up. Were the creators of the video earning any money from that mash-up? Probably not. Would that video help expose people to Hall & Oates and perhaps bump up sales figures? Absolutely. If I were Daryl Hall or John Oates, which unfortunately I am not, I would be furious at Warner right now.

Luckily for Chris Brown, Zomba Records - a division of Sony Music - kept their hands off the wedding video, and they brought in a nice little sum of money as a result. And the happy couple was able to share their wedding experience with their family and 10 million new friends. Everyone wins.

Source: Viral video increases music sales (Razorfish’s Amnesia Blog)