Billboard Charts Will Not Count Jay-Z’s 1 Million ‘Magna Carta’ Sales Through Samsung

Jay-Z recently announced that he aims to “write the new rules” with his twelfth studio album Magna Carta Holy Grail. His album’s release is still two weeks away and he appears to have shaken up the preexisting record sale conventions already. Samsung made a partnership with Jay that allowed them to buy one million copies of his record, which will be available for a free download through an Android app exclusively to Samsung Galaxy smartphone users 72 hours before its official release date on July 4. Nielsen SoundScan, who records counted sales for Billboard, will not be including these million units, because their policies state that they do not count bulk sales. Furthermore, albums must be sold by a label/artist/music company to a retailer for one-third of retail price. These digital copies were sold for five dollars a piece. Even though Billboard‘s first week sales projections will not reflect this, the RIAA may still determine these sales viable when they consider it for platinum certification. An album is only eligible for RIAA certification 30 days after its release date, giving ample time for the association to review the events regarding this situation. Partnering with a corporate sponsor on a mass scale may be the answer the decaying music industry was looking for. Will the RIAA be faster to accepting this progression than Billboard?

If 1 Million records gets SOLD and billboard doesnt report it, did it happen? Ha. #newrules #magnacartaholygrail Platinum!!! VII IV XIII

— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) June 17, 2013