Album bundles may be changing next year as we know them because Billboard has decided that starting January 3, 2020, there will be new rules effective for these practices.
According to them, artists who decide to package albums and merchandise together for a higher position on the Billboard albums charts will need to qualify under specific guidelines. The merch bundle must cost at least $3.49 and as a result, each item must also be available for purchase concurrently and individually on the same website. Plus, it has to be priced lower than the bundle which includes the merchandise and the album.
Third party websites selling bundles will also be prohibited starting next year.
This topic was controversial in recent months and years, especially when Nicki Minaj went at it with Travis Scott for his ASTROWORLD pack and when DJ Khaled when toe to toe against Tyler, The Creator‘s IGOR and his bundles. Billboard decided not to count Khaled’s energy drink bundles when they discovered bulk purchases.
We’ll see how artists switch up the strategy moving forward.