“50 Cent’s album was originally scheduled to drop on Nov. 23, but it leaked to the Internet nearly a month before that, prompting his label, Interscope Records, to push its release forward. The digital version of “Before I Self Destruct” was rush-released to Apple’s iTunes Store in the U.S. last Monday (Nov. 9), ahead of the CD’s bow on Monday, Nov. 16.

Because of this situation, Interscope has requested that Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan uphold an existing policy regarding album Internet leaks. In a rule instituted nearly a year ago based on industry input, a label may ask Nielsen SoundScan to hold the digital sales count of an album for up to one week — and for Billboard to delay charting that album — when a leak situation has resulted in a digital album beating its physical counterpart to market. As a result of this rule, “Before I Self Destruct’s” first-week digital sales will be added to its overall retail sum for the week ending Nov. 22 and the album will debut on next week’s chart.

Billboard, along with Nielsen SoundScan, will review the merit of maintaining this rule.”

Source. Seems like a “hey lets help raise your 1st week album sales” rule to me.