Talk:RIAA certification

New formula
Per the RIAA website link here-

Units are now defined as follows:
 * Each permanent digital download counts as 1 Unit for certification purposes.
 * 100 on-demand audio and/or video streams will count as 1 Unit for certification purposes.

Gold – 500,000 Units (For example, this means a Gold certification can now be earned by selling 500,000 permanent downloads, or some lesser number of permanent downloads plus achieving a certain number of on-demand streams, over the lifetime of a song) Platinum – 1,000,000 Units Multi-Platinum – 2,000,000 Units (increments of 1,000,000 thereafter)  NYSM  y talk page  22:18, 10 May 2013 (UTC)

Controversy section
This article needs to show RIAA controversy, as well as how the RIAA is not a final statement.

Some examples:

1)Here's an excerpt from a book:

https://books.google.com/books?id=3EAGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT289&lpg=PT289&dq=%22buddy+holly%22+%22Ten+million%22&source=bl&ots=XSiOL-vKr9&sig=D09xMBEP_YMHcZedHlGwrWlV1lY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Vq07VaryFM3Q7Abl2oHYDw&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22buddy%20holly%22%20%22Ten%20million%22&f=false

However: a search of the RIAA site reveals that Buddy Holly's only certification is Gold for the Album "the Buddy Holly Story:.

2)Another obvious and much-repeated example:

http://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/music/228919/gloriously-indulgent-orgy-iron-butterfly

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/dorman-381477-bass-butterfly.html

http://www.today.com/news/iron-butterfly-bassist-dies-70-1C7704497

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/iron-butterfly-bassist-lee-dorman-dead-at-70-20121222

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/12/22/iron-butterfly-bassist-lee-dorman-dies-at-age-70/

The RIAA meanwhile, have certified it as "quadruple platinum"(ie. more than 4 million, but fewer than 5 million)

Intriguingly, Billboard says: http://web.archive.org/web/20080116110003/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=The+Billboard+200&g=Year-end+Albums&year=1969

While, the number 5 album has subsequently been certified as 8xplatinum.

Eight million is of course what IAGDV sold in less than one year, http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/220748/Iron-Butterfly-In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida/overview

...but not according to the RIAA.

RIAA certification is not the beginning and end, nor is it even representative. This article needs to reflect that. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 197.88.26.12 (talk) 15:19, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

elton john/goodbye yellow brick rd
WHY IS IT THAT ELTONS GBYR IS NOT CREDITED WITH 16 X PLATINUM WHEN THE RIAA OWN RULES STATE THAT EACH DISC COUNTS TOWARDS ITS TOTAL BUT WHEN IT COMES TO GBYR IT DOES NOT HAPPEN, AND WHY DOES THE LION KING SOUNDTRACK NOT CREDITED TO EJ WHEN HE SINGS THE ONLY SONGS ON THE ABLUM WHEN IT SEEMS ANYBODY ELSE E.G. THE BEEGEES/WITNEY HOUSTON YOU EITHER SHARE THE ALBUM WITH OTHER ARTISTS WHO SING THERE OWN SONGS OR DONT EVEN WRITE ANY SONGS ON THESE SOUNTRACKS YET GET THE SALES CREDITS YET ELTON WRITES AND SINGS ALL THE SONGS WITH TIM RICE ON THE LION KING YET CANNOT GET ANY CERDIT FOR ANYTHING202.180.118.24 (talk) 05:02, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

Update
Could someone update section Artists with the most certifications of Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum singles? It's really out of date... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.36.34.143 (talk) 13:37, 22 September 2015 (UTC)


 * Post Malone has 4 diamond awards. Surprised that he's not even listed. https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=Post+Malone+#search_section 47.148.193.92 (talk) 06:53, 15 November 2022 (UTC)

Physical Singles vs Digital Singles
Shouldn't Physical and digital singles be put separated. The table could be the same but shouldn't they be noted which type are they. I'm only saying this because there are very few multi-platinum singles (Physical) and zero diamond. As the market collapsed the rules for downloads and streaming changed in order to show the current market but in the past couple of years there are more than 10 diamond singles and thousands of multi-platinum singles. It's not fair to compare 3-5$ singles (or in some cases 8-10$ maxi-singles) to 0.99 downloads or 100 streams that cost even less. It's quite easier for an artist to have a multi-platinum single or a diamond single (as before never a single sold enough to be diamond, though the market is now 90% down). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.138.96.199 (talk) 10:00, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

Thats correct

in 1999 artists got GOLD 500,000 sold singles an reached for sure top 10 of the Hot 100

nowadays there are singles which reach top 100 barely but get gold

Nowadays i can buy a single for 99cents via amazon or iTunes in 1999 i had to buy the whole cd single for 8,99 $ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.247.240.127 (talk) 20:18, 6 July 2017 (UTC)

Section headings
I've just for the "most certifications" tables. The old titles were unreasonably long and included "as of" dates, which only encourage broken incoming links (when the dates are changed, as happened with the albums table) and/or false information (when the dates are not changed but the content is updated, as happened with the singles table). Also, the albums table now includes Diamond info, but its section heading didn't reflect this fact. The new, simplified headings should be easier to maintain (i.e., shouldn't need changing) in the future. If someone doesn't like my choice(s) of headings, be sure to consider these issues when choosing different names. Oh, and I included anchors with old section titles for the albums table that were used here for 2 years or more (because incoming links are more likely to exist for those section titles); this was necessary for the singles table, but not the albums table (no title for that section lasted longer than 18 months or so). - dcljr (talk) 23:19, 23 January 2016 (UTC)

Verification of RIAA Certifications
This page seems to have limited information pertaining to verification of RIAA certifications. A quick search of the Web yielded almost no results germane to this topic. Does anyone have and/or know where to find further information? InTheCurve (talk) 03:38, 12 February 2016 (UTC)InTheCurve


 * The process is explained at http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/apply/ . Piriczki (talk) 12:44, 12 February 2016 (UTC)


 * I read through all of the relevant material on the RIAA site and gave a scan of the website of their third-party verification entity (Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, LLP; www.grfllp.com). However, I could find no information from the RIAA or the GR&F sites regarding the actual process of aggregating sales data less returns for physical units and/or aggregating digital sales and streams.  Essentially, what the RIAA site indicates is that they base their audits on sales data supplied to them by the record label requesting the certification.  Does anyone have any information on how the sales data supplied by the record label to the RIAA is monitored and processed? InTheCurve (talk) 14:42, 12 February 2016 (UTC)


 * It's called accounting. Piriczki (talk) 14:48, 12 February 2016 (UTC)


 * Certainly! Yet, there is honest accounting and there is dishonest accounting.  I'm wondering if anyone has information on existing measures in place by the RIAA and/or a third party to keep dishonest accounting figures from influencing their certifications. InTheCurve (talk) 15:27, 12 February 2016 (UTC)


 * "Dishonest accounting" can be subject to civil or criminal penalties by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Department of Justice or a state attorney general. While the RIAA is a trade organization that promotes the record industry and is of course biased in its desire to issue more and higher record awards, it is unbiased regarding competition between its member companies which is why it goes through an independent auditing process. Piriczki (talk) 16:05, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

The Beatles 1
On the wiki page for The Beatles 1 album it is listed as having sold 12 million copies in the US and thus being certified 12x platinum as opposed to 10x platinum--EnderAtreides117 (talk) 05:51, 5 April 2017 (UTC)


 * I corrected the 1 (Beatles album) article. Many albums have sold far more copies than their RIAA award indicates. Piriczki (talk) 11:59, 5 April 2017 (UTC)
 * The Beatles have a core catalogue consisting of 13 studio albums and one compilation, why are they listed as having 19 albums going plat??? 12.149.115.58 (talk) 22:07, 2 May 2022 (UTC)

certified SINGLES before DOWNLOAD ERA which did not reach top 10
there are singles like

PERSONAL JESUS and i feel you by DEPECHE MODE which sold 500,000 copies but reached only  # 28 and # 37 on the hot 100 respectively

MUSE have several singles which never reached hot 100 but have gold and platinum singles

STARLIGHT reached #101 on the hot 100 but got PLATINUM FOR 1,000,000 sold singles — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.247.240.127 (talk) 20:21, 6 July 2017 (UTC)

overcertified albums
there are over certified albums by mariah carey or u2 which got 10xPLATINUM and 8xPLATINUM

but sold much less

like MUSIC BOX by carey which sold 6 million copies but got DIAMOND — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.247.240.127 (talk) 20:23, 6 July 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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Diamond albums and singles together
I personally think that albums and singles with diamond certificates should be on a separate list.

Any thoughts? Bob3458 (talk) 14:25, 7 December 2017 (UTC)


 * i agree 100% 181.203.233.249 (talk) 01:02, 16 April 2023 (UTC)

Requested move 17 October 2018

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Moved per discussion. (non-admin closure) –Ammarpad (talk) 09:10, 26 October 2018 (UTC)

Recording Industry Association of America certification → RIAA Certification – I am proposing, rather than taking it upon myself, changing the title of this article to RIAA certification because that’s what it’s more commonly called by media and the general public. Here are some headline examples. Heck, that’s what they even call themselves! Exhibit A. It’s quite obvious what RIAA stands for and that should be left in the lead, but for accessibility (less clunkiness and easier to access “platinum” certifications for those interested) I believe the title should be changed. Trillfendi (talk) 22:28, 17 October 2018 (UTC)
 * Support per WP:SHORTFORM. Compare:
 * Central Intelligence Agency, but CIA activities in Vietnam, not Central Intelligence Agency activities in Vietnam
 * Federal Bureau of Investigation, but FBI files on Elvis Presley, not Federal Bureau of Investigation files on Elvis Presley
 * bd2412 T 03:40, 18 October 2018 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Untitled
Why is Minaj at the top of the Most Platinum singles list and out of order? Why does Cardi B have 3 listed for Most Diamond certifications when the associated source lists 2? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:1700:38A0:6550:4869:950A:AFC5:8CBC (talk) 17:26, 17 February 2022 (UTC)