Billboard Announces New Rules For Merchandise/Album Bundles

[Conservative Mom 655]

Billboard be like i got NEW RULES i count them hey hey hey aye

stream this only one hit by dua lipton!

[Illuminati 15,756]

This is gonna be such a mess

[dynamite 50,362]

7 minutes ago, RAMROD said:

Oh

Was a reference to New Rules in the title lol 

[S0436 10,215]

Will this affect the new Lover snow globe teeshirts?

[Kimmo 79,344]

Billboard is changing the rules to its album charts, affecting the way sales will be counted on those tallies in respect to merchandise bundles. The new rules go into effect Jan. 3, 2020.

Moving forward, in order for an album sale to be counted as part of a merchandise/album bundle, all the items in the bundle must also be available for purchase concurrently and individually on the same website. In addition, the merchandise item sold on its own will have to be priced lower than the bundle which includes both the merchandise and the album. Further, merchandise bundles can only be sold in an artist's official direct-to-consumer web store and not via third-party sites.

Regarding the Jan. 3, 2020, start date, all album releases from that date onward must adhere to the new rules, even if the bundles went on-sale before then. Likewise, for already released albums, those looking to count further sales on the albums charts from must also adhere to the new rules from Jan. 3, 2020, onward.

Under current rules and moving forward, any approved piece of merchandise that is clearly artist- or album-branded can be bundled with a copy of the album, with those sales counting for the charts when the physical album is shipped to the customer or when the digital album is fulfilled to the customer. However, the merchandise/album bundle must be priced at least $3.49 more than the merchandise item alone. ($3.49 is the minimum price of an album to qualify for the charts.)

The changes come as bundles have been at the center of a public debate around the Billboard albums charts, with many arguing these bundled album sales do not reflect customers' true interest in purchasing the album, but, rather, the merchandise it’s packaged with. The new rules look to address that concern, by offering customers the option to purchase the merchandise with or without the album.

The new policies do not affect albums that are part of a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer bundle, where the price of an album is part of the cost of a ticket and the album's inclusion is promoted to the customer at the beginning of their purchase experience. Then, after purchasing the ticket, the customer will receive an offer to redeem the album and have it mailed to them or to download it. Only the albums that are redeemed count toward Billboard's charts, indicating a desire by a consumer to receive the album.

Year to date in 2019 (through Nov. 21), album sales have fallen 19% compared to the same point a year ago. And, for the full year of 2018, album sales dropped by 17.7% to 141 million -- the lowest number of albums sold in a year since Nielsen Music began electronically tracking sales in 1991.

Many artists have taken advantage of bundle offers, with nearly every No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart now getting a boost by a bundle. Among the artists who topped the Billboard 200 in 2019 thanks in part to bundling efforts (either via a ticket bundle or a merchandise bundle, or both): Celine Dion, Luke Combs, Kanye West, SuperM, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, Madonna, NF, Tyler, the Creator, Billie Eilish, Khalid, Jonas Brothers, Vampire Weekend, Ariana Grande, Thomas Rhett and Backstreet Boys.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8544817/new-rules-merchandise-album-bundles?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

[Kimmo 79,344]

For short:

“Basically, sales through merch bundles will only count if the album is available separate from the bundle as well on the same website and if the merch bundle is at least $3.49 more than the price of the merch without the bundle. Also these bundles will only count if sold through the artist's official site and not through any third party sites. Tour bundles remain unaffected”

[River 104,752]

I really don't see how it's gonna change anything

[FfFfFfFF 54,014]

Good decision!

We need to hold a praying session for some of the girlies out there though.

[A Very Gaga Holida 20,423]

49 minutes ago, LG6boy said:

INSIDE ARTICLE

''Many artists have taken advantage of bundle offers, with nearly every No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart now getting a boost by a bundle. Among the artists who topped the Billboard 200 in 2019 thanks in part to bundling efforts (either via a ticket bundle or a merchandise bundle, or both): Celine Dion, Luke Combs, Kanye West, SuperM, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, Madonna, NF, Tyler, the Creator, Billie Eilish, Khalid, Jonas Brothers, Vampire Weekend, Ariana Grande, Thomas Rhett and Backstreet Boys.''

 

technically, Gaga is the only artist who didn't do it when she got her #1 album this year 

[ice bear 1]

Just now, JusKeepBreathin said:

But when will they put a limit on how far in advance a single can be released before an album.

Selena Gomez tease. 

Selena AND Lana

[Ryusei 60,798]

so basically nothing's gonna change. 

[whore 11,447]

53 minutes ago, JusKeepBreathin said:

But when will they put a limit on how far in advance a single can be released before an album.

Selena Gomez tease. 

Is this really a problem though? 

[whore 11,447]

I’m really excited for this! I really wanted one of the Madonna Madame X shirts, though I certainly did not want a copy of the album, especially on vinyl  

[A Very Gaga Holida 20,423]

23 minutes ago, Loeppke said:

Is this really a problem though? 

yes it is. I mean, no one's dying because of that, but singers use that to create a successful album. If the song flops, they don't include it ; if it works, they put it on the album. No integrity, no artistry. If you want to put out random songs that don't belong to a concrete project, just release standalone singles

[Pop Music 20,522]

dua tease