Jay-Z’s ‘Magna Carta’ Album Sales Forecast Grows to 450-500,000
The debut week sales forecast for Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail” has grown. After its first day at retail on July 9, industry sources now suggest the album could sell between 450,000 to…
The debut week sales forecast for Jay-Z’s “Magna Carta Holy Grail” has grown. After its first day at retail on July 9, industry sources now suggest the album could sell between 450,000 to 500,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, July 14.
Two days ago (July 8), sources projected that the title was aiming for a start between 350,000 to 400,000.
“Magna Carta” should easily give Jay-Z his lucky 13th No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, extending his record as the solo act with the most No. 1 albums in chart history. Only the Beatles, with 19 chart-toppers, have had more leaders.
Jay-Z, ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’: Track-By-Track Review
The new Billboard 200 chart’s top 10 will be revealed on the morning of Wednesday, July 17.
“Magna Carta” is selling strongly with digital retailers, despite how one million download copies were available for free via an app promotion with Samsung. The set became available on July 4 to Samsung phone and tablet users who had downloaded a Jay-Z-centric app.
Jay-Z’s last solo studio album, 2009’s “The Blueprint 3,” opened at No. 1 with 476,000 sold in its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. He returned to the top slot in 2011 with the collaborative album “Watch the Throne” (with Kanye West). It started at No. 1 with 436,000.
All of Jay’s solo studio albums released since 1999 have debuted with more than 400,000. If “Magna Carta” can surpass the half-million mark in its first week, it would be his fourth release to bow with more than 500,000. He previously debuted with a half-million with “Kingdom Come” (680,000 in 2006), “The Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse” (545,000 in 2002) and “The Dynasty Roc La Familia (2000–)” (558,000 in 2000).
In non-Jay-Z news, next week’s No. 2 album should be Ciara’s new self-titled album. It will likely bow in the runner-up slot with around 50,000 to 60,000 sold. That’s a significantly larger start than her last album. 2010’s “Basic Instinct” arrived at a lowly No. 44 in the thick of the Christmas shopping season, selling 37,000 in its first week. It fell off the chart after only eight weeks, and has sold 116,000 to date.
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