Monday, July 1, 2013

New Rules: Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail” Goes Platinum Before Release Date


Apparently Jay-Z wasn’t messing around when he said the music industry has “new rules.” In a reversal of its previous stance, the RIAA announced today that “sales of albums in digital format will become eligible on the release date.”

As a result, Jay-Z’s new album Magna Carta Holy Grail has effectively gone platinum due to his recent deal with Samsung in which the tech giant purchased one million copies up front. The album will be distributed through an exclusive mobile app on July 4 before it hits the rest of retail on July 7.

The RIAA’s announcement states:

“We think it’s time for the RIAA – and Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman – to align digital song and album certification requirements. That’s why today we are officially updating this rule in our G&P Program requirements”

They also gave props to Hov’s strategy calling it “a novel and creative marketing move [that] has rightly stimulated a healthy conversation about the sale’s meaning and implications for the modern music business.”

For those curious about the details, check out the RIAA’s announcement here.

Download: Jay-Z – Open Letter

| Music Industry

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