Re Platinum, gold etc.
Walker Andrew John
status for albums and singles in various countries (especially australia!)
Also, are these numbers adjusted for increasing populations because
if they are not then they really mean nothing.
Andrew Walker
DELBERT ( Peter Climie )
In the UK for LP's
I THINK it's
-----
60,000 silver
100,000 gold,
300,000 platinum. (Im quite sure...)
--
----------------------------------
DELBERT clim...@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk 4.5.93 Jags 3 - 0 Rangers
----------------------------------
Jens Backlund BII
In <1skhbv$l...@wampyr.cc.uow.edu.au> u926...@wampyr.cc.uow.edu.au writes:
I've been collecting these sales awards numbers for about 10 years now.
The numbers has been adjusted many times in some countries, as you can
see in the list (many brackets). The most common reason for these changes
appears more to be increasing and decreasing record sales...
In the United States, national gold records has been certified
by the R.I.A.A. since 1958. It seems that a few record companies
gave their own artists gold records before that. Those early gold
records was sometimes based on sales worldwide.
RECORD SALES AWARDS AROUND THE WORLD
1. Awards for a number of copies sold:
*** thousands of copies *** (previous criteria in brackets)
diamond-LP:s 1000 Canada
1000 France
- (50) Finland
silver-LP silver-S gold-LP gold-S platinum-LP platinum-S
30 50 60 Argentina
30(15) 50 70(50) 100 Australia
25 50(100) 50 100 Austria
10 50 15 50 50 200 Belgium
100 250 Brazil
50 50(75) 100 100(150) Canada
25(60)(250) 500 Czechoslovakia
25 20(15)(25) 50 50(30) 100 100 Denmark
25(15)(20) 5(10) 50(100) Finland
200(250) 100 400(500) 300(400) 800(1000) France
100(125) 125(250)(500) 250 250(1000) 500 500(1000)(2000) Germany *
30(50) 50 60(100) 100 Greece
10 50 50(25) 100 100(50) 250(150) Holland
10 20 Hongkong
50 50(100) Hungary
5 Iceland
250 500 1000 India
400 Indonesia
50(25) 25 100 50 Ireland
10 20 40 Israel
-(500) 100(1000)(250) 1000 200(500) Italy
100 300 Japan
5 30 10 60 25 100 Kenya
15 25 50 Malaysia
100 250 Mexico
10 5(10) 20(15) 10 New Zealand
20 25 25(50)(40) 50 50 100 Norway
10 50 Philippines
125(135)(130) 250 Poland
15 25(30) 30 50 60 100 Portugal
20 Singapore
-(60) 25(20)(100) 25 50(200) 100 South Africa
100(50) 100(75) 150 Spain
50 50(25) 25(100) 100(50) 50 Sweden
25 50 50 100 Switzerland
2.5 Taiwan
60 200(250) 100(250) 400(500,1000) 300 600(1000) United Kingdom
500 500(1000) 1000 1000(2000) USA
12.5 50 25 100 50 200 Yugoslavia
S = single
LP= album
Read it like this:
For example, in Argentina you have to sell 30,000 copies domestically to get a
gold album there. But if you want a gold single in USA, you must sell 500,000
copies in that country alone. Earlier, a gold single in USA had to sell at least
1,000,000 copies.
Also:
Foreign gold LP:s in Belgium = 25
Foreign gold S:s in Belgium = 100
Local gold LP:s in Hongkong = 25
Local platinum LP:s in Hongkong = 50
Pop gold LP:s in Hungary = 100
Gold EP:s in Poland = 100
Gold Maxisingles in USA = 250
Platinum Maxisingles in USA = 500
Gold Shortform albums in USA = 250
Platinum Shortform albums in USA = 500
Gold LP-boxes in USA = 500 / n CD:s in each box (500,250)
Yes, now they count also the numbers of CD:s in each box.
Platinum LP-boxes in USA = 1000 / n CD:s in each box (1000,500)
The numbers above are the official in each country.
Some record companies still gives their very own gold and platinum awards
to their artists for domestic or worldwide sales.
* = former West Germany
2. Awards are also given to a record in some countries if the record sales
are counted not just in copies of records, but also in the amount of money
(f ex US dollars) spent by the record buyers on that particular record.
3. Awards has been awarded also on the total number of record sales for an
artist, and if total yearly sales for the artist has reached a certain number.
Some numbers above are almost certainly too old, but I hope this brings
a little light...
No responsibility for any mistakes or errors in this chart!
Jens Backlund
Turku, Finland
Bill Vermillion
>I've been collecting these sales awards numbers for about 10 years now.
> The numbers has been adjusted many times in some countries, as you can
> see in the list (many brackets). The most common reason for these changes
> appears more to be increasing and decreasing record sales...
>In the United States, national gold records has been certified
> by the R.I.A.A. since 1958. It seems that a few record companies
> gave their own artists gold records before that. Those early gold
> records was sometimes based on sales worldwide.
I was in radio when they started certifying "Gold" records - that makes
me a bit older than the average reader here.
The certification came about because everyone was talking about their
"Gold" records - and it became just a name.
The certification became 1,000,000 singles SOLD. So you can ship a
million and get 500,000 returns and it's not gold.
The ablums at that time did not amount to much. If you had a hit
single you quickly went to the studio and cut 10 more tracks, if you
didn't have any from previous hit attempts.
The hit and it's B side were teamed up with 10 more cuts - usually
pretty bad to get an album out. It was 12 cuts to the LP then - went
to 10 cuts per LP in the mid 60's to save a few cents per disk on
mechanical royalties.
The first Gold LP numbers were made to be the equivalent $ sales of the
singles. And it was typically based on wholesale price if I remember
correctly.
So the GOLD LP was about 250,000 units. Platinum at one time was a
million units, and double platinum twice tha. I've only seen a double
plantinum in person one time.
But as you point out, it varies from time to time and is dollar based
(at least in the US).
And a bit of trivia. There were 3 singles that sold one million
copies each in the late 1920's. Those was one by Gene Austin - My
Blue Heaven, one by Vernon Dalhart - the Prisoners Song (which was
playing in the background on Northern Exposure about 3 week ago).
I think the 3rd was also by Gene Austin - but it escapes me at the
moment.
The depression hit and record sales
were typically 20,000 copies for many. The next million copy seller
was a patriotic song in 1942 - shortly after the US entered WWII.
It was called "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere".
The past 10-15 years have seen the emergence of the mega-hit - units
selling well past 10 million copies worldwide. This comes at the
expense of the rest of the musicians. More mega-hits, and fewer
records that are just plain big hits.
--
Bill Vermillion - bi...@bilver.uucp OR bi...@bilver.oau.org
David A. Pearlman
>In article <1993May11.1...@abo.fi> JBAC...@FINABO.ABO.FI (Jens Backlund BII) writes:
>>
>
>>I've been collecting these sales awards numbers for about 10 years now.
>> The numbers has been adjusted many times in some countries, as you can
>> see in the list (many brackets). The most common reason for these changes
>> appears more to be increasing and decreasing record sales...
>
>
>"Gold" records - and it became just a name.
>
>The certification became 1,000,000 singles SOLD. So you can ship a
>million and get 500,000 returns and it's not gold.
Although that's the principle, I believe that until the early '80's
one could obtain gold (or platinum) certification for albums that
shipped that way, even if many of them ultimately came back as returns.
Certification was based on the number of units shipped at the time
of certification, and a label could apply for certification at any time.
The industry joke was that the Kiss solo albums (all certified platinum
on release) were the first albums to *return* platinum.
In the early '80's, the rules were changed for certification so that
a label had to wait 30 days (I think that was the amount of time) before
applying for sales certification. The idea was to allow long enough for
returns to make their way back up the pipeline.
It is worth noting that certification is/was NOT automatic. Many labels
simply didn't bother to get certification (didn't want to pay for the
audit) for albums that clearly sold enough units. Hence, albums like
Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon weren't certified gold for many years.
>
>So the GOLD LP was about 250,000 units. Platinum at one time was a
>million units, and double platinum twice tha. I've only seen a double
>plantinum in person one time.
I think the platinum certification was instituted around 1976. My recollection
is that a Johnny Taylor album on Columbia (Disco Lady 2000? Something like
that) was the first album to be certified platinum.
dap
--
=============================================================================
David A. Pearlman
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. email: d...@vpharm.com
Charles F. Board
|>
|> It is worth noting that certification is/was NOT automatic. Many labels
|> simply didn't bother to get certification (didn't want to pay for the
|> audit) for albums that clearly sold enough units. Hence, albums like
|> Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon weren't certified gold for many years.
And, at least until the mid-80's, there were *no* Motown gold records...berry
gordy was too cheap to pay for cerification.
|>
|> >
|> >So the GOLD LP was about 250,000 units. Platinum at one time was a
|> >million units, and double platinum twice tha. I've only seen a double
|> >plantinum in person one time.
|>
|> I think the platinum certification was instituted around 1976. My recollection
|> is that a Johnny Taylor album on Columbia (Disco Lady 2000? Something like
|> that) was the first album to be certified platinum.
If it was a '76 JT album, it was almost certainly "Eargasm" - which spawned
the huge #1 single "Disco Lady".
|>
***************************************************************************
*Charlie Board "I speak only for myself, my employer *
*cnc...@bnr.ca probably doesn't give a hoot about this" *
***************************************************************************
Walker Andrew John
Andrew
Jens Backlund BII
In <1993May11.1...@bilver.uucp> bi...@bilver.uucp writes:
> The first Gold LP numbers were made to be the equivalent $ sales of the
> singles. And it was typically based on wholesale price if I remember
> correctly.
Yes indeed! When the gold awards where introduced in the US in early 1958,
the minimum sales (wholesale prices) were $1 million. From Jan.1, 1975,
an additional requirement was sales of 500,000 units.
> So the GOLD LP was about 250,000 units. Platinum at one time was a
> million units, and double platinum twice tha. I've only seen a double
> plantinum in person one time.
The national US platinum discs were introduced in january 1976 for sales
of 1 million albums and $2 million. Multiplatinum awards saw the daylight
in US in october 1984. But through Sept.30, 1986, only albums and singles
released after Jan.1, 1975, could be certified platinum and multiplatinum.
From october 1986, a lot of old records (even early fifties releases) has
been certified beyond gold.
> And a bit of trivia. There were 3 singles that sold one million
> copies each in the late 1920's. Those was one by Gene Austin - My
> Blue Heaven, one by Vernon Dalhart - the Prisoners Song (which was
> playing in the background on Northern Exposure about 3 week ago).
> I think the 3rd was also by Gene Austin - but it escapes me at the
> moment.
>
> The depression hit and record sales
> were typically 20,000 copies for many. The next million copy seller
> was a patriotic song in 1942 - shortly after the US entered WWII.
> It was called "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere".
Joseph Murrells (?) wrote excellent books about million sellers. I think
they are called "The Golden Book of Records" and "The Million Selling Discs".
> The past 10-15 years have seen the emergence of the mega-hit - units
> selling well past 10 million copies worldwide. This comes at the
> expense of the rest of the musicians. More mega-hits, and fewer
> records that are just plain big hits.
It's rather sad that some excellent records never gets the attention
they deserve...
> --
> Bill Vermillion - bi...@bilver.uucp OR bi...@bilver.oau.org
Jens Backlund
Jens Backlund BII
In <1993May11....@portal.vpharm.com> d...@portal.vpharm.com writes:
> The industry joke was that the Kiss solo albums (all certified platinum
> on release) were the first albums to *return* platinum.
Yes, and I think the "Sgt. Pepper soundtrack" (late 1970's) was said to
have shipped gold and returned platinum :-) :-)
> In the early '80's, the rules were changed for certification so that
> a label had to wait 30 days (I think that was the amount of time) before
> applying for sales certification. The idea was to allow long enough for
> returns to make their way back up the pipeline.
In the US, the delay time for certification was introduced in july 1979.
First, it was 120 days. But in early 1980 a decision was made to cut the
time to 60 days for all records released on or after Jan.4, 1980. So
artists today must wait for their awards at least 2 months in the US.
They may harvest a lot on the very same day. This past winter, for instance
the soundtrack from "The Bodyguard" went gold, platinum and 6*platinum
simultaneously!
> It is worth noting that certification is/was NOT automatic. Many labels
> simply didn't bother to get certification (didn't want to pay for the
> audit) for albums that clearly sold enough units. Hence, albums like
> Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon weren't certified gold for many years.
The "Dark Side" album was released in march 1973. In the US, it was certified
gold on Apr.17,1973, only 1 month old! When the platinum certification rules
changed in autumn 1986, it could be certified beyond gold. It went platinum
and 11*platinum in february 1990, and 12*platinum in september 1991. There
are probably some countries where "Dark Side" is not yet gold, although it
may very well have forced its way beyond the platinum level in that particular
country.
> I think the platinum certification was instituted around 1976. My recollection
> is that a Johnny Taylor album on Columbia (Disco Lady 2000? Something like
> that) was the first album to be certified platinum.
You are close to the truth. Taylor had the first platinum single (Disco Lady,
certif. plat. in US on Apr.22, 1976), but Eagles' "Their Greatest Hits 1971-
1975" was the first certified platinum album (US) on Feb.24, 1976.
Many earlier records had of course already reached the same sales levels.
Artists like Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, Beatles and many more had several
multimillion-sellers long before 1975.
> dap
> --
> =============================================================================
> David A. Pearlman
>
> Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. email: d...@vpharm.com
Jens Backlund
Jens Backlund BII
In <C6vrL...@news.rich.bnr.ca> c...@n8pph46.nt.com writes:
> And, at least until the mid-80's, there were *no* Motown gold records...berry
> gordy was too cheap to pay for cerification.
Diana Ross' album "The Boss" went gold on Jul.17,1980. As of Mar.31,1993,
I think only a few of Motown's sixties albums has been certified. One can
only hope that Motown's classic hitsingles goes gold some day!
> If it was a '76 JT album, it was almost certainly "Eargasm" - which spawned
> the huge #1 single "Disco Lady".
Taylor's "Eargasm" album went gold on Apr.5,1976. I think the platinum
certification date in the US is still in the future.
> ***************************************************************************
> *Charlie Board "I speak only for myself, my employer *
> *cnc...@bnr.ca probably doesn't give a hoot about this" *
> ***************************************************************************
Jens Backlund