Jay-Z may have pre-sold a million copies of Magna Carta Holy Grail, but no one will guarantee him a No 1. According to the Official Charts Company, purchases as part of Jay-Z's scheme with Samsung will not count toward his ranking in the album charts.
"Music which consumers receive free of charge, either as physical releases or downloads, have never counted towards the Official Charts, and this release will be no different," a spokesperson told NME. "Legitimate purchases of Jay-Z's album will count, however, as usual."
Jay-Z's 12th studio album was announced in a TV commercial on Sunday night, during game five of the NBA finals. He is apparently partnering with Samsung for the release: the company pre-purchased 1m copies of Magna Carta at about $5 (£3.23) each. They plan to give these away to owners of Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
A million albums is nothing to sneeze at. Over the past 20 years, fewer than 20 US releases have sold that much in their first week. It's equivalent to an instant platinum record or, in the UK, a triple-platinum sales certificate. Jay-Z's last solo LP, 2009's The Blueprint 3, moved only 476,000 in its first week at home.
Still, Jay-Z's 1m pre-sales may not add up to anything except a giant cheque for the 43-year-old's already-formidable bank account. The US chart authority has also revealed that they will ignore the Samsung purchases. "We don't count free-to-consumers," Soundscan's David Bakula told Reuters.
Jay-Z doesn't seem too bothered. "If 1 Million records gets SOLD and billboard doesnt report it, did it happen?" he tweeted. "Ha. #newrules #magnacartaholygrail Platinum!!!"
Magna Carta Holy Grail is out on 4 July.
