Letters from the Labyrinth

[danfromnj]

I think I read somewhere that you get a free download of it with a ticket purchase.

That would certainly help the album's Billboard magazine chart position - and we know how much Paul likes his numbers. If it is tied into ticket sales, Nielsen has a method to count those toward sales and consequently, chart position.

i dont think they count those #s anymore. after people complained about a few artists numbers being very padded by giving away physical cds with a concert ticket.

Well, the album download will be a part of the ticket purchase (online tickets, anyway) - and yes, these downloads will count towards the Billboard charts. These are the most updated specs:

The requirement for reporting a digital download album sale bundled with a concert ticket are:

With purchase of tickets, with or without an additional fee, customer receives a unique PIN number redeemable for a digital download of the album. Transaction will count as a sale at the point of redemption. Sales will not be held or carried over to a subsequent tracking week, so the redemption should be timed to an album’s scheduled release date or any date thereafter.

In addition: the following conditions must be met.

• Bundle offer must be presented in advance (at least 15 days) for approval to both Nielsen SoundScan and Billboard.
• Any additional incentive for consumer to redeem album (i.e. contesting or further discount offers) is NOT allowed.
• Download album must have its own unique UPC code for clearer tracking.
• Digital fulfillment service must be a long-standing reporter to Nielsen SoundScan for 6+ months from the event occurring.
• There must be satisfactory proof provided to Nielsen SoundScan that the manufacturer received a reasonable and customary payment for each unit from the concert promoter or ticketing agency.
• Nielsen SoundScan must receive digital sales/redemptions directly from the digital service/fulfillment company and must include the consumer’s zip code for each download redeemed.
• The product that is offered as a download to consumers who purchased a concert ticket must be equivalent to product generally available at retail.

It makes sense to do this - especially if you are interested in sales number reporting. They group these "sales" numbers in with actual copies being purchased for their sales number reporting - it's a bit of a loophole in sales reporting in my opinion, but those are the above-the-board rules.