Travis Scott’s Label Disputes Sabrina Carpenter Beating Him To #1 On Album Chart

[baddisease 16,930]

Quote

This week’s Billboard album chart was the subject of a dramatic sales battle between two big stars. Two week ago, newly anointed pop-queen Sabrina Carpenter released her long-awaited and generally excellent album Short N’ Sweet. Travis Scott, meanwhile, made his 2014 mixtape Days Before Rodeo available on streaming services for the first time. Before the chart came out, Scott’s Cactus Jack label was reportedly already disputing Billboard‘s tabulation methods.

Both Short N’ Sweet sold extremely well, with album-equivalent units in the hundreds of thousands, Carpenter won in a photo finish. Short N’ Sweet ended the week with 362,000 album units while Days Before Rodeo racked up about 361,000. In his quest to beat Carpenter to the #1 spot, Travis Scott released several different deluxe digital editions of Days Before Rodeo, but it didn’t work. Neither, apparently, did complaining to Billboard.

Today, Vulture reports that anonymous representatives for Cactus Jack Records sent a letter to Billboard and tabulation company Luminate in advance of the final chart’s 9/3 publication. In that letter, Cactus Jack claimed that Billboard‘s methods were “unreliable and incomplete” and that they missed a portion of Days Before Rodeo sales that would’ve presumably pushed that album to #1. Specifically, the letter says that Billboard missed “an extremely high volume of orders” for Days Before Rodeo when a final deluxe edition came out at 11:20PM on 8/29, the final day of tracking.

In the letter, the Cactus Jack representatives speculate that a Luminate employee could have “a personal incentive” to help Sabrina Carpenter reach #1, since he formerly worked at Island Records, Carpenter’s label. The letter writers further say that they were “not reaching out as management for an upset artist” but on behalf of the Cactus Jack label and store. In response, a spokesperson for Luminate says that the company is often in contact with labels and stands by the final chart: “We are confident that our numbers are correct in accordance with our processes and methodology.”

Pop stars, please note: A #2 debut on the album chart, especially for a decade-old mixtape, is way less embarrassing than a story like this.

 

https://www.stereogum.com/2279182/travis-scotts-label-disputes-sabrina-carpenter-beating-him-to-1-on-album-chart/news/

[DemonMic2003 8,726]

Oh my lord Travis just stop.

5 minutes ago, baddisease said:

 

https://www.stereogum.com/2279182/travis-scotts-label-disputes-sabrina-carpenter-beating-him-to-1-on-album-chart/news/

:like:

[baddisease 16,930]

11 minutes ago, DemonMic2003 said:

Oh my lord Travis just stop.

:like:

 

why? she robbed him!

[Mer 58,945]

What a sore loser. There’s no evidence anything happened that was shady. I agree with the article you posted that “a #2 debut on the album chart, especially for a decade-old mixtape, is way less embarrassing than a story like this”

[dexter 1,248]

To be honest he probably did have uncounted sales 🥴 but it was very close 

[jimmyjimmycocoapuff 4,210]

5 minutes ago, baddisease said:

 

why? she robbed him!

for an EP he released [checks notes] 10 years ago? I'm not a Travis hater, although I've heard a lot of unsavoury things about him against my will, but this just doesn't seem like that big of a controversy. Especially since they both released so many versions of their albums, chart battles just seem useless because there are too many ways to cheat the game.

[DemonMic2003 8,726]

2 hours ago, jimmyjimmycocoapuff said:

for an EP he released [checks notes] 10 years ago? I'm not a Travis hater, although I've heard a lot of unsavoury things about him against my will, but this just doesn't seem like that big of a controversy. Especially since they both released so many versions of their albums, chart battles just seem useless because there are too many ways to cheat the game.

Facts

[Oshawott 83]

Now wait a minute, didn't Travis release like six different versions of his album in an attempt to manipulate the chart? His people have some nerve spreading conspiracy theories about numbers not being counted when they had to use cheap tricks to try and snatch the #1 from Sabrina. After the Astroworld thing and now this, I'm convinced that Travis is a con man.

[DinahLee 6,078]

Pop stars, please note: A #2 debut on the album chart, especially for a decade-old mixtape, is way less embarrassing than a story like this.

 

 

ssksksksksksks

[shadesofblue 12,531]

after the astroworld disaster, he doesn't deserve it. i can't care about a man who doesn't care when 10 people die at his show  also #2 is not bad for decade old music. if anything #2 is still impressive

[DYKTTAHOLB 113]

Why do artists need a #1 debut? They'll be fine with a top 10-top 20 chart position. There are worse things they can worry about than fucking charts

[details 16,733]

you'd think he would know better after being in a very similar position to sabrina years ago with the nicki minaj drama yet here we are! 

[TrashMagiq 57,942]

Mind you Travis is projected to have the biggest drop on the BB200 in modern history while Sabrina’s projected to stay at number 1, which shows that these billboard chart position peaks don’t mean much.

[Dark Angel 198,093]

i'm sorry but who actually cares about any of this at the end of the day

[grandpas glass 25,717]

Wow, the #1 spot is really important to them.

 

Kind of childish, shouldn't they just be happy about the number of units sold?

[baddisease 16,930]

10 hours ago, Dark Angel said:

i'm sorry but who actually cares about any of this at the end of the day

 

it might not be important but this is still a music-related website! which makes it kind of sort of tangentially important? or smth like that.

[Embach 35,748]

Billboard should change that million album variant rule. An album should chart as a standard version only. But at the end of the day, capitalism wins.

[14n4 353]

let the girl have her moment 

[heroindealer 10,475]

a 10yo tape no.2 debut is outstanding to say the least, and with all the deluxes and desperation for no.1 is just greedy and aiming for beyond of what’s deserved 

let a new singer have that no.1 this time fgs 

[lakeemmahottie 1,269]

17 hours ago, grandpas glass said:

Wow, the #1 spot is really important to them.

 

Kind of childish, shouldn't they just be happy about the number of units sold?

this is childish in general... is it bad im sick of people caring about having a number one spot? artists should care about making the best quality of music they can.

this is going to sound really harsh but i cant respect someone as an "artist" if they're making 2 minute tiktok songs and releasing 34543 versions of the same fucking album is corny. i'm aware it's "how the music business works" but my point still stands, this new era of people having such an insane focus on numbers to be considered talented and having the most generic shit ever over artists who really pour their heart into being original and authentic. nobody appreciates art in music anymore and i find it seriously annoying. whats worse is probably caring about how much something sells from the perspective of the person streaming the music. but anyways thats my rant over

19 hours ago, Dark Angel said:

i'm sorry but who actually cares about any of this at the end of the day

THIS!!