Jay-Z's first week sales numbers were projected to be big, but that won't be reflected in his Billboard placement.
According to Pitchfork, 4:44 will be noticeably absent from Billboard's album chart because Tidal doesn't report their streaming numbers to Nielsen Music, the company that compiles the data utilized by Billboard to determine rankings. Instead, the LP will make its chart debut the week of July 22nd.
A similar situation arose when The Life of Pablo was released by Kanye West: it only made an appearance on the Billboard album chart once its availability consisted of more than just Tidal's streaming service. The accomplishments are already rolling in for 4:44 however - the RIAA has certified the record platinum and it was expected to move between 250k-275k Sales Plus Streaming units in its first week out.
