The Recording Industry Association of America announced on Monday that it has made changes to its Gold and Platinum certification program after it heard about Samsung and Jay-Z’s innovative idea to launch the rapper’s Magna Carta Holy Grail.
On July 4, a million Samsung Galaxy users will get to download Magna Carta Holy Grail three days before its official release on July 7. The RIAA said that when it heard the news, they, along with auditing firm Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, decided to look at the formula for the Gold and Platinum certifications.
They found that one piece of the formula was outdated. According to EW, the RIAA used to wait 30 days after an album’s release to count digital sales, but on Monday, they got rid of that. Instead, digital sales will count right away and Jay’Z’s Magna Carta Holy Grail will get the platinum certification before it even goes on sale to the general public.
“The reality is that how fans consume music is changing, the music business is changing as labels and artists partner with a breathtaking array of new technology services, and the industry’s premier award recognizing artists’ commercial achievement should similarly keep pace,” RIAA’s Liz Kennedy said in a statement. “In short, we’re continuing to move the 55-year-old program forward and it’s a good day when music sales diversification and innovative strategies meet the RIAA’s time-tested, gold standard requisites for certification.”
While Jay-Z and Samsung won over the RIAA, they were not as successful with Billboard. The magazine said last month that it and Nielsen SoundScan will not count the Samsung sales on the Billboard 200 chart. Therefore, Magna Carta Holy Grail won’t be on the chart until after the July 7 release.
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