Travis Scott vs Sabrina Carpenter: What’s Going On
One of the closest chart races in recent memory ended with Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” edging out Travis Scott’s 2014 mixtape “Days Before Rodeo,” the rapper’s upcoming 2014 mixtape that he’s now making available on the platforms. But before the final numbers to compile the rankings came out on September 3, Scott’s label was already contesting the results. The magazine Vulture obtained a letter that Cactus Jack Records sent to representatives of Billboard and Luminate, which tabulates weekly data for the Billboard charts. Written before the Billboard 200 was releasedthe letter claims that the process that leads to the creation of that week’s album chart is “unreliable and incomplete” and that a portion of the sales would not have been included in the final issue of “Days Before Rodeo” and could have pushed Scott to number one.
A spokesperson for Luminate confirmed that the company has received a letter from a label challenging this week’s Billboard 200. Luminate, of course, is standing by its data. “We are confident that our numbers are correct based on our processes and methodology,” the spokesperson said.. Cactus Jack has declined to comment on the leak. Representatives for Scott and Billboard did not respond to Vulture magazine’s requests for comment. To get a final push toward number one, Scott made several deluxe digital editions of “Days Before Rodeo” available on the final day of tracking, August 29.including a special edition near the end of the survey. That final edition spurred “extremely high order volume,” the letter reads. Cactus Jackcausing delays in the final minutes of tracking.
The letter states that a Singles executive warned Cactus Jack which “about 1000 units” of “Days Before Rodeo” they were late and not reported to Luminate, but would have been counted during the next week of tracking. Cactus Jack initially wouldn’t have been concerned about those units because Scott seemed to be ahead, but after retail sales numbers were reported on Sunday and Carpenter took over, concerns arose that he would prompt the label to write a letter that is causing great embarrassment in the music industry.
