Despite 500 million digital copies of U2’s latest record “Songs of Innocence” being given away through iTunes this week, that album won’t be counted on the Billboard music chart until next month.
Nielsen Soundscan, which the Billboard chart is based on, doesn’t acknowledge free or giveaway album copies when collecting record sales statistics. When “Songs of Innocence” is commercially available on Oct. 14, its sales from that point forward will be made official.
U2’s latest work also won’t be eligible for any Grammys at February’s show because that commercial release date falls after the Sept. 30 cutoff date for consideration.
For more on this developing story, see the above video.
Clint Davis is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis.
