Not So Fast: SoundScan Says Jay-Z’s Deal with Samsung Doesn’t Guarantee Platinum Album

By: Amanda Anderson-Niles

The Jay-Z Samsung deal was confirmed on a very grand scale, but the Hip Hop heavyweight and business man has become a target of criticism for inking the major deal with the Technology titan. As we recently reported, the new deal means Jay-Z will give away one million free copies of his new album “Magna Carta Holy Grail,” just to some select Samsung device owners just a few days before the album’s official release date. Through an app which will be available for download next week, the lucky phone owners will also be able to get a glimpse of the behind the scene action that took place as the rapper recorded the album.  However, people have been suggesting the automatic handout of one million albums ensures Jay’s album will go platinum. Interestingly enough, a Soundscan representative claims that’s not the case. MTV News reports:

And while that appears to guarantee Jigga instant platinum status before the album even hits shelves, Nielsen thinks otherwise. “Nielsen doesn’t count bulk sales,” a SoundScan spokesperson told MTV News. That longstanding edict means that if anyone, even, say, Beyoncé, buys a million copies of Magna Carta and gives them away as Independence Day party favors they can’t be counted as sales according to Billboard magazine’s long-standing policy on bulk purchases. The source said this differs from major retailers like Walmart or Target that buy large quantities of popular albums with the intent of selling them to consumers for a set price.

As for whether Magna Carta can go platinum before it goes on sale to the general public, a spokesperson for the Recording Industry Association of America (the folks who hand out gold and platinum certifications) told MTV News on Tuesday (June 18) that albums only become eligible for RIAA certification 30 days after their initial release date.