Rihanna’s new album is already certified platinum thanks in part to the work of Samsung. The tech giant purchased 1 million copes of ANTI to offer to fans for free download. ANTI, her eighth studio LP, dropped on Tidal Thursday (Jan. 28). According to the company’s marketing director, Rihanna moved 1.4 million copies in 15 hours.”That’s a really big deal for us,” Grace Kim told Spin.com. Samsung pulled the same move with Jay Z’s Magna Carter Holy Grail release in 2013. Just as they did with Hov, fans jumped at the chance to get a free Rihanna album, giving the bajan singer her fastest platinum album certification in the history of her career. Let’s not discount Rih Rih’s own power though, her sales figures include 400,000 copies bought from traditional downloads. Also, ANTI has been streamed more than 13 million times, proving that her superstar stats are intact (with or without Samsung’s help). That said, Billboard and Nielson won’t count the Samsung sales. Hit the flip for reactions to Rihanna’s platinum loophole. — Photo: Dennis Van Tine/Future Image/WENN
