DES ON THE RECORD

Roc Nation COO Desiree Perez doesn’t frequently talk to the press, so when she broke her silence recently by speaking with The New York Times on the subject of bundling and its impact on the Billboard chart, she had the attention of the entire biz. We asked her to elaborate, notably on whether or not bundles should be abolished altogether.

“That’s exactly our position,” Perez (pictured at left with Beyoncé) says. “Music consumption is the only true metric that should matter. Bundling devalues the art and is demeaning to the artists. It needs to go, and we are urging Billboard to take that step as soon as possible.”

Of course, taking that step will inevitably bring down many artists’ chart totals. But Perez believes a more level playing field will outweigh any reservations on this front. “By now, it’s no secret that Billboard will do anything in its power to blunt streaming’s momentum—whether it’s an arcane formula to calculate streams or arbitrary rules for bundling downloads,” she insists. “So whether numbers or chart positions are affected, I think artists will be excited for a day when everyone is playing by the same rules.”

Perez underscores that these arcane and arbitrary rules must be replaced by something that reflects the realities of the present marketplace. “The fans have spoken loud and clear, and they largely prefer to consume music through streaming,” she says. “Not downloads, not unit sales. Why Billboard is continuing to filter streaming numbers through what they call an 'album equivalent' and not measuring consumption in the form in which it’s actually consumed is stunning.”