Roc Nation COO Desiree Perez wants album bundling to be banned. Perez’s comments come after controversy arose when DJ Khaled reportedly planned to sue Billboard, “after an alleged 100,000+ sales were not counted in his album’s first-week total.” DJ Khaled’s album Father of Asahd debuted at No. 2.
Desiree Perez previously spoke with the New York Times about bundling, which is when albums are paired with merchandise. She followed up on her comments with Hits Daily Double stating,
“Music consumption is the only true metric that should matter. Bundling devalues the art and is demeaning to the artists. It needs to go, and we are urging Billboard to take that step as soon as possible.”
She added,
“By now, it’s no secret that Billboard will do anything in its power to blunt streaming’s momentum—whether it’s an arcane formula to calculate streams or arbitrary rules for bundling downloads.”
Perez stated eliminating bundling will make it an even playing field where artists are all “playing by the same rules.” She concluded,
“The fans have spoken loud and clear, and they largely prefer to consume music through streaming. Not downloads, not unit sales. Why Billboard is continuing to filter streaming numbers through what they call an ‘album equivalent’ and not measuring consumption in the form in which it’s actually consumed is stunning.”
