S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay-Z could be in for a big week as new estimates have his Magna Carta Holy Grail album expected to sell up to 400,000 copies in its first seven days.
Industry sources predict the album will sell well over 300,000 copies.
Even though Jay-Z began giving away a million copies of his new album “Magna Carta Holy Grail” on July 4, the set is still bound for a big week once it goes on sale July 9. Industry sources suggest it might sell 350,000 – 400,000 by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, July 14. “Magna Carta’s” first-week sales forecast is based partly on how well the title is performing with pre-orders through digital retailers. It became available to pre-order via iTunes on July 4. (Billboard)
The project would need to sell more than 476,000 copies in order to beat his 2009 The Blueprint 3‘s opening week numbers.
In turn, the album is seemingly a lock for No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart next week. It would mark Jay-Z’s 13th chart-topper, extending his record as the solo artist with the most No. 1 albums in history. (Only the Beatles, with 19 No. 1s, have more leaders.) “Magna Carta’s” retail release date comes five days after it became available for free to some Samsung photo and tablet users. Jay-Z’s last solo studio album, 2009’s “The Blueprint 3,” opened at No. 1 with 476,000 sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. He returned to the top slot in 2011 with the collaborative album “Watch the Throne” (with Kanye West). It started at No. 1 with 436,000. (Billboard)
In light of one million copies recently being sold to Samsung to give away, RIAA director Liz Kennedy announced new changes to its certification process.
“By now, many of us in the music business, as well as Jay-Z fans, know that Samsung has purchased one million “Magna Carta Holy Grail” digital albums to be given away to the phone maker’s customers. It is a novel and creative marketing move and it has rightly stimulated a healthy conversation about the sale’s meaning and implications for the modern music business. For us, the move prompted a re-examination of our historic Gold & Platinum (G&P) Program award rules. As we dug through the records of audits, re-reviewed rules and consulted with our auditing firm of more than thirty years, Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, we discovered one rule disparity that no longer makes sense.” (RIAA)
The new policy only helps increase how fast Jay could have his new album go gold and platinum.
The album, officially out July 9, will be available free on July 4 to the first 1 million Samsung phone users to download it with a special app. Jay-Z lost the battle to have the giveaway counted toward his Billboard and SoundScan tally, but RIAA will accept the freebies, and the rap titan will be allowed to apply for certification upon delivery rather than be forced to wait 30 days, as earlier stipulated by the trade organization’s regulations. (USA Today)
