The RIAA announced new certification rules today (February 1) via a press release.
The association now includes official audio and video streams as part of the tally to determine how many sales an album has, effective today. This creates a new benchmark for albums to be certified gold and platinum. Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and Big Sean’s Dark Sky Paradise are now certified platinum.
“For nearly six decades, whether it’s vinyl, CDs, downloads or now streams, the Gold & Platinum Program has adapted to recognize the benchmarks of success in an evolving music marketplace,” Cary Sherman, Chairman and CEO of RIAA says in a press release. “We know that music listening – for both for albums and songs – is skyrocketing, yet that trend has not been reflected in our album certifications. Modernizing our Album Award to include music streaming is the next logical step in the continued evolution of Gold & Platinum Awards, and doing so enables RIAA to fully reward the success of artists’ albums today.”
Joining Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly and Big Sean’s Dark Sky Paradise in receiving a certification is Wale’s Ambition, which is now is gold. The Weeknd’s Beauty Behind the Madness is now Multi-Platinum (2x) and Michael Jackson’s Thriller is recognized Multi-Platinum (32x).
That’s on some BS real artists go platinum when u sell a milli albums, which doesn’t include streaming BS!! Billboard where it’s at …. ????
It’s just weird. But I guess maybe it’s due to a decline of album sales, the growing outlets for releasing material…Personally I think singles shouldn’t be counted towards sales. Artists might be more inclined to have solid albums than 2 hits and the rest filler.
Bullllllllshiiiiiitttt. It’s not the same thing at all you can’t count it like that smgdh that’s rigging the game on some major bs so now wait Rhianna’s album leaked and went platinum? This is pitiful.
Kendrick will get the real platinum that is a million albums sold. Big Sean will not even sell 500k
Kendrick going fake platinum.
Shame.
A stream is NOT a sale! Congrats to Kendrick & Big Sean but this opens the door for artists that people are just checking out to get rewarded whether they like or dislike the content. A sale is the only way to judge because a person put their own money on the table. And streams is a result of internet radio programming, not personal choice. So many things wrong with this.
My only concern is the music quality. In the past (90’s and early 00’s) quality = sales. Nowadays the hot stuff sells while a lot of the good music goes unnoticed. Check the Grammy’s. Each year bullshit gets nominated while the likes of Big KRIT, Freddie Gibbs, and the rest of the non mainstream artists get left home while the radio hit makers get nominated. Kendrick should clean up at this years Grammys. He deserved it. But I don’t recall seeing Tetsuo and Youth nominated. While I don’t think Lupe deserves the win over K.Dot, he should be nominated. I’m not surprised their changing the concept of going ‘Platinum,’ because Billboard, just like the Grammys, only care about the numbers.
I can understand kendrick but zeek sean plat? Gtfoh zeek sean is horrible. Overrated af
If you you think dark sky paradise was wack, you a bum. Just saying. You probably think young thug got the coldest bars in the game. Dummy.
All this and rick Ross still ain’t platinum yet
Port of miami went platinum already and about 3 more will be platinum soon.
Newsflash: Port OF Miami never went platinum and it never will, same goes for Ross’ other albums.
hah the game is soft you dont even have to grind the units doing 12 shows in 5 days is over the game is over
This is the “every kid gets a trophy” of the music industry. Shame!
The Weeknd earned it!
Ok. Recognize all u want.. but if those streams are not being paid for individually it’s not gonna bring no revenue to the artist. What’s is a million streams by people who already subscribe to a stream service if u only physical sell 50 thousand..
This is the result of bum ass fans stealing music… Shit cost a dollar for a song and less than $20 for an album. If you can’t afford that or it hurts your pockets, kill yourself. Your bum ass shouldn’t be listening to music.
That’s bullshit right there. This sounds like a couple of butthurt artists (kendrick and big sean) who couldn’t catch up with drake or the other big artists so they persuade RIAA to cheat just so they can go even weak platinum.
I thought Pimp Butterfly was over-rated but the CEO of TDE said save the congrats we don’t use cheat codes for sales only actually numbers sold. So they aint down with this new dumb RIAA certification bullshit
I’m exactly right corky. Kenwack didn’t want to play by their rules so he begged and probably bribed Riaa to change it. Not even the ceo of top dawg is cool with it. This just takes away from the hard work Drake had to do.
And you’re wrong again, Danny boy.
That is strange, because Ive known about the RIAA wanting to change this since 2006-07 when digital sales were going up and streaming was the new hot thing in town and ringtones were ‘hot’. It has only taken them approximately 8+ years to finalize it, but hey, if you say its new…
No, you were wrong. Kendrick had nothing to do with the new changes the RIAA did and he’s always played by the rules. He never begged or bribed anyone to do anything, the RIAA did this themselves in a failed attempt to keep up with the times. Kendrick also worked hard as evident by his critically acclaimed album selling more than gold, being nominated for 11 Grammys and topping nearly every year-end best albums list.
Lol u dumb
Its not as bad as people are making it out to be. In order for those streams to count for One album….it has to be streamed 1,500 times to be the equivalent of a purchase.
The game is officially DEAD.
I remember when ringtones when platinum and just say Thriller is 3 times Diamond