Travis Scott’s Days Before Rodeo re-release made a big impact, racking up 361,000 equivalent album units in its first week. Despite this impressive number, it only secured the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet album claimed the top spot, edging out Travis by a mere 600 copies. The close competition has raised concerns within Travis’ team about the accuracy of the unit counting service, Luminate.
Travis Scott’s Team Raises Concerns About Luminate
In a clear bid for a No. 1 record, Travis Scott released six deluxe versions of Days Before Rodeo on the final day of August 29. The Houston rapper and his team were disappointed with their second-place finish, leading to allegations of questionable number crunching. Travis’ team asserts that Luminate failed to count 1,300 units in their tally.
“This is not about Travis versus Sabrina, but about the integrity of the charting process and the questionable tactics employed in U.S. charting,” a representative for Travis Scott stated in a letter to Rolling Stone on September 6. “This issue could affect any artist.”
Given the tight race, with a difference of only 1,000 units, Travis’ team is urging the organization responsible for reporting data to review the facts and reconsider their decision not to count the verified 1,291 units.
The letter also reveals that Travis’ team contacted Luminate, the company that provides sales and streaming data to Billboard, when they noticed discrepancies in the numbers. However, Luminate allegedly did not respond or acknowledge the data provided.
Travis’ team also raised concerns about Luminate’s “indie retail ‘weighting'” and accused the company of having a conflict of interest, citing a former employee who worked at Sabrina Carpenter’s label, Island Records.
A spokesperson for Luminate responded to XXL, stating, “We are confident that our numbers are accurate and in line with our processes and methodology.”
Sabrina Carpenter Takes Sales Battle Personally
Sabrina Carpenter was fully aware of the sales competition with Travis Scott. On the final day of counting sales numbers for the week, following Travis’ last-minute deluxe album releases, the pop star tweeted, “This one’s for Nicki.” This tweet references Travis’ Astroworld album preventing Nicki Minaj’s Queen LP from debuting at No. 1 in 2018. Nicki criticized Travis on social media for selling merchandise and bundle packages to boost his sales unfairly.
XXL has reached out to Travis Scott’s team for further comment.
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FAQs
Q: Why did Travis Scott’s Days Before Rodeo re-release not secure the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart?
A: Despite impressive numbers, Travis Scott’s album was edged out by Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet by a slim margin of 600 copies.
Q: What concerns did Travis Scott’s team raise about Luminate?
A: Travis’ team alleged that Luminate failed to count 1,300 units in their tally and questioned the company’s integrity and potential conflicts of interest.
Q: How did Sabrina Carpenter react to the sales battle with Travis Scott?
A: Sabrina Carpenter referenced Travis’ past sales tactics in a tweet, indicating that she was aware of the competition between them.
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