The Carter Family Business

     This past week, Jay-Z's newest album, "Magna Carter Holy Grail", was certified platinum. While it may not seem out of the ordinary considering the hip-hop mogul's status of cultural relevance, the actual date of certification is more than intriguing. "Magna Carter Holy Grail" has a release date of July 9th. Yet, that same day, the Recording Association of America recognized one million copies of the album being sold. This was possible because of a deal with technology conglomerate Saumsung, as the company bought one million copies of the album to make available digitally three days early exclusively to Samsung Galaxy owners. While the deal was poised to be one of the most innovative ideas of modern music, the marketing ploy ultimately failed to meet expectations as the app (where Samsung Galaxy owners could download the album) crashed within the hour of it's release.

     Despite the technicalities of it's release, Jay-Z still earned a platinum certification for the albums on the day of it's release, a first for the RIAA. In fact, the association recognized a rule change in Jay-Z's honor just days before the exclusive digital downloads were available. The deal between Samsung and Jay-Z is still widely considered ambitious and innovative, regardless of the technical follow-through. Surprisingly, this isn't the first major deal of this magnitude with a major urban contemporary artist this year. None other than Mrs. Carter, Beyonce Knowles, first made a 50 million dollar deal with Pepsi before her Superbowl performance in early February. That deal covered the Super Bowl, as well as a cross marketing deal for Bey's next album and a Pepsi campaign previewing new music material. Mr. and Mrs. Carter seem to be paving the waving for innovation among artists and major companies. I think I speak for everyone when I say we're just waiting on Blue Ivy to partner with Huggies for a line of designer diapers.