--- title: "Jay-Z’s ‘Holy Grail’ Sparks Change in RIAA’s Award Rules" id: "18385" type: "post" slug: "jay-zs-holy-grail-sparks-change-in-riaas-award-rules" published_at: "2013-07-10T20:20:50+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-15T20:37:04+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/07/10/jay-zs-holy-grail-sparks-change-in-riaas-award-rules/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/07/10/jay-zs-holy-grail-sparks-change-in-riaas-award-rules.md" excerpt: "The Recording Industry Association of America updated its rules for certifying gold and platinum digital albums in light of Samsung’s giveaway of 1 million digital copies of the rapper’s latest album." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "consultants" - "Media" - "Music" - "RIAA" - "sales" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "For-Profit CEO / President / Owner / Partner" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Jay-Z’s ‘Holy Grail’ Sparks Change in RIAA’s Award Rules A new marketing tactic by Jay-Z and Samsung is causing the Recording Industry of Association of America to make changes to its Gold and Platinum (G&P) Program award rules, again. > It is a novel and creative marketing move, and it has rightly stimulated a healthy conversation about the sale’s meaning and implications for the modern music business. Last week [RIAA announced (opens in a new tab)](http://www.riaa.com/news_room.php?content_selector=riaa-news-blog) it would update its [G&P Program requirements (opens in a new tab)](http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=Album-Award) that certify a digital album as platinum or gold after Samsung purchased 1 million digital copies of Jay-Z’s latest album, *Magna Carta … Holy Grail*, to give away to Samsung Galaxy owners on July 4. “It is a novel and creative marketing move, and it has rightly stimulated a healthy conversation about the sale’s meaning and implications for the modern music business,” Liz Kennedy, RIAA director of communications for the G&P Program, said in a statement. The rule change will now count digital album sales starting on the album’s release date—the same way sales of digital songs are counted—as opposed to after a 30-day wait period that is standard for physical albums. Kennedy said the 30-day wait period exists to take into account potential album returns, but according to the association’s auditing firm, digital returns account for less than 2 percent of the sales submitted for certification. This isn’t the first time the association has had to make changes to its G&P program this year. In May, [RIAA announced](http://associationsnow.com/2013/05/recording-industry-group-adapts-to-changing-technologies/) it would begin integrating digital streams into the awards program, allowing on-demand audio and video song streams to be counted toward the “Combined” Digital Single Award certification. Kennedy said the latest update reflects the association’s efforts to modernize the G&P Program. “The reality is that how fans consume music is changing, the music business is changing as labels and artists partner with a breathtaking array of new technology services, and the industry’s premier award recognizing artists’ commercial achievement should similarly keep pace,” she said. “In short, we’re continuing to move the 55-year-old program forward, and it’s a good day when music sales diversification and innovative strategies meet the RIAA’s time-tested, gold standard requisites for certification.” (photo by Adam Glanzman/Flickr) [Katie Bascuas](https://associationsnow.com/author/katie-bascuas/) Katie Bascuas is a former associate editor at Associations Now in Washington, DC. 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