Jay-Z has made a unique $5 million deal with Samsung to provide exclusive early access to his album,Magna Carta Holy Grail,and an assortment of extra features. This has caused huge controversy online. Some are disgusted at the blatant merging of music with corporate concerns, whilst others are simply irritated that they will have to wait 72 hours before they have access (although as one fan put on Twitter, it will take no time before the album is illegally uploaded).

Samsung has purchased a million copies of the album which will be given to a million smartphone customers on July 4th. If the free downloads count in the charts, Jay-Z's album will be guaranteed a place at No. 1. It is thought, that if Samsung paid $5 million in exchange for 1 million copies (thus putting the price of each album at $5), these sales will be taken into consideration.

This is the latest of Jay-Z's business deals which include producing films such as Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby and an adaptation of the musical Annie (in partnership with Will Smith). 

The deal was announced in a commercial during Sunday's NBA game. The rapper said the internet is "like the wild west" and that "we need to write new rules". This may be a shrewd business move on Jay-Z's part; however it simply makes Samsung look fairly desperate. It seems implausible that hundreds of thousands will abandon their non-Samsung Galaxy phones in exchange for an album they could wait a mere 3 extras days to purchase.

Early access to behind-the-scenes footage on the making of the album, including information on Jay Z's inspiration and personal story, will be available for Samsung Galaxy customers from 24th June. The app to download a free copy of Jay-Z's album will be available on the same days.

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Jay-Z at the premiere of The Great Gatsby, New York

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Jay-Z performing at Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, New York in 2011