Still great marketing, but it looks like Jay-Z’s Samsung album sales/giveaway will not count towards his positioning on the charts, says Billboard.
Samsung Galaxy users have the opportunity for the first 1 million people who download an app on June 24 will get Magna Carta Holy Grail sent to them for free on July 4. Billboard editorial director Bill Werde posted a letter on the Billboard site stating the reason for the exclusion, saying it’s because Samsung isn’t actually selling the album through their phones.
Werde writes, “Once something is — i.e., when Jay's Magna Carta Holy Grail hits retailers and fans have the chance to express their support and interest by buying it, we'll obviously count those sales. I've been told that label sources expect first-week sales of the album to be in line with the 400,000-450,000 his recent albums have shifted. That will almost certainly give Jay his lucky 13th No. 1 on the Billboard 200.”
We have a feeling Magna Carta Holy Grail will still make a solid first week sales debut.
Meanwhile Jay dropped the tracklisting and artwork for his upcoming opus. No features are reported, other than those we know contributed production, like Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, Rick Rubin, and Pharrell. There are 13 track, and two bonus offerings, one being the previously released “Open Letter.” It’s reported that Nirvana’s grunge classic, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is also sampled on the set. The artwork is rligious in nature, hence the title.
Jay-Z – Magna Carta Holy Grail (Tracklist)
01. Picasso Baby
02. Heaven
03. Versus
04. Tom Ford
05. Beach Is Better
06. FuckWithMeYouKnowIGotIt
07. Oceans
08. F.U.T.W.
09. Part II (On The Run)
10. BBC
11. La Familia
12. Jay-Z Blue
13. Nickles & Dimes
14. Holy Grail (Bonus Track)
15. Open Letter (Bonus Track)
