OK
so who has a connection to Billboard Magazine and can ask this question:

How will the 3 CD set be counted?
In the past (Emancipation for example) each CD counted as a separate sale.
So for every copy of "Emancipation" he sold - it counted as three.

I am almost positive they stopped letting sales be counted this way. Lupe Fiasco was planning on releasing a 3CD set and when he found out it would only count as one he changed plans.

Furthermore; I believe price is a factor. I think the CD has to have a certain retail price to be counted as a full CD. "1999-The New Master" priced itself out of being a single and therefor charted (barley) as an Album.

My best guess, and it is just that, a guess is that the new 3CD set will be counted as 33.3 - meaning he will have 2 sell 3million "packs" to certify each CD as Platinum (1million)

The price combined with the fact that you do not give the consumer the option to buy only ONE or TWO of the CDS gives me a second guess that it will have to Chart as a SET.

For Example

debuting at #1 with a bullet this week "THE NEW LOTUS FLOW3R PACK"

Also - From what date will they begin counting sales? Sunday or Monday?

Does anyone have any info on the subject?

thaConcept

thaCONcept said:

Someone just posted on another thread that each sale counts as one for the chart, which it also did with Emancipation. Where each cd counted as separate, was in the counting towards gold/platinum discs.

Seems reasonable.

But isn't it too cheap for 3 CD's?

Isn't there a minimum prize for a CD that can be counted?

incredibleD said:

Actually, it's not about the price, it's about the length of the discs. You see, Christina Aguilera released a double disc in 2006, but the material could have fit a single disc, so RIAA never regarded it as a double CD release and it was certified like a regular album.

I wouldn't be surprised if the total time of Prince's 3 albums would fit 2 discs, so it would be treated as a double CD by RIAA.

LiveToTell86 said:

Thanks very much.
(In Germany there's a minimum retailer wholesale price, if a cd is too cheap, you won't find it in the charts.)

Does it matter that one album is credited to Bria instead of Prince?