Music recording sales certification

"Golden record", "Gold disc", "Gold single", "Gold certification", "Diamond disc", "Diamond award", "Platinum record", "Platinum single", "Platinum certification" and "Double platinum" redirect here.
For the golden phonograph records on the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft, see Voyager Golden Record.
For gold masters, see Master recording.
For the Edison phonograph, see Edison Disc Record.
For the award of the World Music Awards, see Chopard Diamond award.
For other uses of "double platinum", see Double platinum (disambiguation)

"Gold album" redirects here. For the Tyga album, see The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty.

File:GoldeneLP.jpg

A gold record for The Beatles' Hey Jude

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see List of music recording certifications).

Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after precious materials.

The number of sales or shipments required for these awards depends upon the population of the territory in which the recording is released. Typically, they are awarded only to international releases and are awarded individually for each country in which the album is sold. Different sales levels, some perhaps 10 times lower than others, may exist for different music media (for example: videos versus albums, singles, or downloads).

History

The original gold record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize their sales achievements. The first of these was awarded by RCA Victor to Glenn Miller in February 1942, celebrating the sale of 1.2 million copies of "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Another example of a company award is the gold record awarded to Elvis Presley in 1956 for one million units sold of his single "Don't Be Cruel". The first gold record for an LP was awarded by RCA Victor to Harry Belafonte in 1957 for the album Calypso (1956), the first album to sell over 1,000,000 copies in RCA's reckoning.

At the industry level, in 1958 the Recording Industry Association of America introduced its gold record award program for records of any kind, albums or singles, which achieved one million dollars in retail sales. These sales were restricted to U.S.-based record companies and did not include exports to other countries. For albums in 1968, this would mean shipping approximately 250,000 units; for singles the number would be higher due to their lower retail price. The platinum certification was introduced in 1976 for the sale of one million units, album or single, with the gold certification redefined to mean sales of 500,000 units, album or single. No album was certified platinum prior to this year. For instance, the recording by Van Cliburn of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto from 1958 would eventually be awarded a platinum citation, but this would not happen for another two decades after its release. In 1999, the diamond certification was introduced for sales of ten million units.

RIAA certification

Main article: RIAA certification

Gold record presented to Artie Schroeck for his arrangement on "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", 1967

The first official designation of a "gold record" by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was established for singles in 1958, and the RIAA also trademarked the term "gold record" in the United States. On 14 March 1958, the RIAA certified its first gold record, Perry Como's hit single "Catch a Falling Star". The Oklahoma! soundtrack was certified as the first gold album four months later. In 1976, RIAA introduced the platinum certification, first awarded to Johnnie Taylor's single, "Disco Lady", and to the Iron Butterfly album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. As music sales increased with the introduction of compact discs, the RIAA created the Multi-Platinum award in 1984. Diamond awards, honoring those artists whose sales of singles or albums reached 10,000,000 copies, were introduced in 1999.

In the 20th Century and for part of the first decade of the 21st Century it was common for distributors to claim certifications based on their shipments (wholesale to retail outlets) which led to many certifications which outstripped actual final retail sales figures. This became much less common once the majority of retail sales became paid digital downloads and digital streaming.

Digital media certification

In most countries certifications no longer apply solely to physical media but now also include sales awards recognizing digital downloads (in the U.S. and U.K. since 2004). In June 2006, the RIAA also certified the ringtone downloads of songs. Streaming from on-demand services such as Rhapsody and Spotify has been included into existing digital certification in the U.S since 2013 and the U.K. and Germany since 2014. In the U.S. and Germany video streaming services like YouTube, VEVO, and Yahoo! Music also began to be counted towards the certification, in both cases using the formula of 100 streams being equivalent to one download. Other countries, such as Denmark and Spain, maintain separate awards for digital download singles and streaming.

IFPI certification

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) was founded in 1996, and grants the IFPI Platinum Europe Award for album sales over one million within Europe and (as of October 2009) the Middle East. Multi-platinum Europe Awards are presented for sales in subsequent multiples of one million. Eligibility is unaffected by time (from date of release), and is not restricted to European-based artists.

IMPALA certification

The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) was founded in 2000 to grow the independent music sector and promote independent music in the interests of artistic, entrepreneurial and cultural diversity. IMPALA sales awards were launched in 2005 as the first sales awards recognising that success on a pan-European basis begins well before sales reach one million. The award levels are Silver (20,000+), Double Silver (40,000+), Gold (75,000+), Double Gold (150,000+), Diamond (200,000+), Platinum (400,000+) and Double Platinum (800,000+).

Certification thresholds

Main article: List of music recording certifications

Boy band Plus One displaying their gold records.

Below are certification thresholds for the United States and United Kingdom. The numbers in the tables are in terms of "units", where a unit represents one sale or one shipment of a given medium. Certification is often awarded cumulatively, and it is possible for a single album to be certified silver, gold, and platinum in turn. An album that becomes platinum twice over, for example, an album which has sold 2,000,000 copies in the United States, is said to be "double-platinum", or sometimes "multi-platinum". Since 2013 in the U.S., and 2014 in the U.K. and Germany, streaming of songs counts towards certification of singles with 100 streams being the equivalent of 1 unit sold.

United States

Media	Gold	Platinum	Diamond
Album	500,000	1,000,000	10,000,000
Single	500,000	1,000,000	10,000,000
Music video	50,000	100,000	N/A

United Kingdom

Media	Silver	Gold	Platinum
Album	60,000	100,000	300,000
Single	200,000	400,000	600,000
Music video	N/A	25,000	50,000

Canada

Media	Gold	Platinum	Diamond
Album	40,000	80,000	800,000
Single	5,000	10,000	100,000
Music video	5,000	10,000	100,000

Manufacture of awards

Somali singer Saado Ali Warsame receiving a gold record Lifetime Achievement Award.

The plaques themselves contain various items under the glass. Modern awards often use CDs instead of records. Most gold and platinum records are actually vinyl records which have been vacuum metallized and tinted, while trimmed and plated metal "masters", "mothers", or "stampers" (metal parts used for pressing records out of vinyl) were initially used. Rarely does the groove on the record match the actual recording being awarded. Individual plaque-makers produced their awards according to available materials and techniques employed by their graphic arts departments. The plaques, depending on size and elaborateness of design, cost anywhere between US$135 and $275, most often ordered and purchased by the record label that issued the original recording.

See also

• RIAA certification
• List of best-selling albums
• Lists of best-selling singles
• Recording Industry Association of America
• Release (music)

External links

• List of national recording industry associations
• Certification of Awards
• RIAA certification – official websitecs:Zlatá deska