There seems to be a lot of confusion about Gold and Platinum record certification. People like to throw out RIAA certification numbers as proof of record sales without really knowing what the numbers mean. Contrary to popular belief, certification IS NOT based on album sales; it's based on the number of units shipped to the retailer. Here are the classifications for units shipped:

RIAA Certification of 100,000 units: Oro album.
RIAA Certification of 200,000 units: Platino album
RIAA Certification of 400,000 units: Multi-Platino album
RIAA Certification of 500,000 units: Gold album
RIAA Certification of 1,000,000 units: Platinum album
RIAA Certification of 10,000,000 units: Diamond album (stupid classification)

Also, certification is not automatic. The record company has to submit the information, pay a fee and then the artist gets the certification. That is why not all artists have these certifications. Motown was notorious for not submitting their artists for gold/platinum certification, and this was back in the day when certification was double what it is now (2,000,000 units was platinum). Then there are also worldwide certification numbers which fans like to use as proof that an album didn't bomb ("It sold 7,295 in the USA, but it sold 515,200 worldwide!!").

That is why Glitter has a platinum certification, even though every last copy of it is still sitting on the shelves at Best Buy. It shipped a whole mess of copies, and Mariah's ego needed to have that certification so that she can add another to her shelf and make it seem like the album didn't suck the life out of everything around it.


The following is from the RIAA Web site and gives a general description of the process (you can also search their site for certification on various artists, titles, singles, etc):

The Process

The certification process begins with an independent sales audit of each title by Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman, a highly respected accounting firm that has been auditing title sales for the RIAA® for more than 20 years.

The audit calculates what product has been shipped for sale, net after returns, versus product used for promotional purposes, for the life of the release. When certifying audio and music video releases, the independent auditor is careful to survey the entire music marketplace. An artist's Gold® or Platinum® award represents sales through retail, record clubs, rackjobbers, and all other ancillary markets that legitimately distribute music. Once a title’s sales has been audited and verified as having reached requisite levels, a formal certification report is issued and sent to the title's record company.

We are often asked why we don’t just use sales figures from SoundScan. SoundScan measures over-the-counter sales at music retail locations, while the RIAA®'s certification levels are based on unit shipments (minus returns) from manufacturers to a wide range of accounts, including non-retail record clubs, mail order houses, specialty stores, units shipped for Internet fulfillment or direct marketing sales, such as TV-advertised albums. The other difference is that SoundScan's archive is only a few years old, while the RIAA® has tracked artists' sales levels for more than 40 years.

The RIAA® certification program is open to member and non-member companies. RIAA® certification entitles the authorized record company to purchase official RIAA® award plaques bearing the trademarked RIAA® hologram seal from licensed plaque manufacturers.

All certification audits are conducted for a fee. If multiple sales levels are simultaneously certified, only one audit certification fee is charged. Companies requesting their initial certification audit must incur any travel expenses by the RIAA®'s independent auditor. The charge for certifications is $350 for RIAA® member companies. Non-members are charged $450 per certification, which must be pre-paid. Companies will be charged the full audit certification fee for any requests that do not meet the Gold® and Platinum® Program requirements. A 30-day time limit is set for pending certifications. If a full audit cannot be completed within this time, a charge of $100 will be rendered to member companies and $200 to non-member companies.
[Edited 1/17/05 17:18pm]

Interesting...thankx for posting.

Interesting for a few people like me...a lesson for others

Thanks for this.

Hoping J.Lo goes platino

Two things:

Obviously, the first three certifications you listed apply to Latin albums. I don't think you'll see the next Franz Ferdinand release certified oro.

And when you mentioned that certifications used to be double what they are now, I'm pretty sure that was only for singles.

Every last copy of Glitter isn't sitting on the shelf, though - it's scanned about 650,000 copies.

VoicesCarry said:

I know, I know. I was being facetious. Like most hyped albums, it sold well its first week, then dropped right quickly.

edit - damn spelling errors
[Edited 1/18/05 8:07am]

RipHer2Shreds said:

The rest aren't even on the shelf - better check the $2 bargain bins!