From the 13 albums released by a musician, the recording company wishes to release 9 in a boxed set. How many different boxed sets are possible?

This problem can be solved using the concept of combinations in mathematics.

A combination is a selection of items where order does not matter. In this case, we are selecting 9 albums out of 13, and the order in which they are selected does not matter.

The formula for combinations is:

C(n, k) = n! / [k!(n-k)!]

where:

• n is the total number of items,
• k is the number of items to choose,
• "!" denotes factorial, which is the product of all positive integers up to that number.

So, in this case, n = 13 (the total number of albums) and k = 9 (the number of albums to choose for the boxed set).

Substituting these values into the formula gives:

C(13, 9) = 13! / [9!(13-9)!]

Calculating the factorials and simplifying gives:

C(13, 9) = 13121110 / (4321) = 715

So, there are 715 different boxed sets possible.