We’re constantly being told how the record industry is dying; how musicians make no money from physical sales and that’s why concert ticket prices have gotten so high. But if Samsung’s deal with Jay Z tells us anything, it’s that companies still regard music as big business.

It’s difficult to know what people were trying to say when they proclaimed the end of music as a financial model. Are people just going to stop making music? Jay Z was going to stop after The Black Album, but his continued success and high-profile relationship with Beyonce has seen him carry on, something that Samsung will be delighted with. Such is their confidence in his ability to sell music, the Korean mobile phone company spend around $20m to get 1 million copies of his album to users of their products – phones, tablets etc. Samsung spend around $4b on marketing per year, so the $20m they laid out to Jay Z is nothing, and the association with an act like him is marketing in itself.

Of course, nothing ever goes totally smoothly. An untimely leak meant the exclusivity of the album for Samsung users was, let’s say, questionable. From gateway errors when trying to download the album from the company's servers, to problems with the in-app on PlayStore, consumers were less than happy. A snazzy YouTube advert featuring enough good-looking talent was enough to entice the public, though.

Jay ZJay Z surprised alot of people with his new album

Jay Z
And Samsung have snapped him up.