Audio Video News

Ever wonder what the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is doing these days to accurately gauge music sales at a time when CDs are all but dead and downloading has given way to the convenience of streaming from the likes of Pandora and Spotify?

Earlier this month the association announced a new “album award methodology” for its Gold & Platinum program that now includes on-demand audio and video and a track sale equivalent. The change follows a similar update made in 2013 when on-demand streams were added to Digital Single Award certifications. What this means is the program’s benchmarks—500,000 unit sales (Gold), 1 million (Platinum), and 2 million (multi-Platinum)—will count both physical sales and streams to determine certifications for singles and albums.

Under the new Album Award formula, 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video song streams = 10 track sales = 1 album sale. The RIAA’s also updated the Digital Single Award ratio from 100 on-demand streams = 1 download to 150 on-demand streams = 1 download to “reflect the enormous growth of streaming consumption in the two plus years since that ratio was set.” The new formula is based on comparative consumption patterns, not marketplace value, the RIAA is quick to point out.

“We know that music listening—for both for albums and songs—is skyrocketing, yet that trend has not been reflected in our album certifications,” admitted said Cary Sherman, chairman and CEO, RIAA, in a press statement. “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.”

So far, 17 titles have been recognized under the new rules. They include:

• Alt-J, An Awesome Wave (Atlantic Records, Gold)
• Big Sean, Dark Sky Paradise (Def Jam Recordings, Platinum)
• Brett Eldredge, Bring You Back (Atlantic Nashville, Gold)
• Coldplay, Ghost Stories (Atlantic/Parlophone, Platinum)
• Elle King, Love Stuff (RCA, Gold)
• Fifth Harmony, Reflection (Epic, Gold)
• Halsey, Badlands (Astralwerks, Gold)
• Hozier, Hozier (Columbia, Platinum)
• Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly (Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope, Platinum)
• Michael Jackson, Thriller (Epic/Legacy, 32X Multi-Platinum)
• Miranda Lambert, Platinum (RCA Nashville, Platinum)
• Romeo Santos, Fórmula Vol. 2 (Sony Latin, 11X Diamante/RIAA Latin G&P Program)
• Sam Hunt, Montevallo (MCA Nashville, 2X Multi-Platinum)
• Shawn Mendes, Handwritten (Island Records, Platinum)
• The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness (XO/Republic Records, 2X Multi-Platinum)
• Vance Joy, Dream Your life Away (Atlantic Records, Gold)
• Wale, Ambition (Atlantic Urban, Gold)

The Gold & Platinum Awards Program dates back to 1958 when the Gold record award was introduced to recognize LP sales of 500,000. In subsequent years, the program was expanded to a number of formats, including cassette tapes, CDs, digital tracks, digital albums, ringtones, and now streams. Nearly 30,000 certifications have been awarded since the program’s inception. Complete lists of all awards can be accessed at here.

For an interesting take on the RIAA changes, see Emma Grey Ellis recent Wired article. She writes: “The good news is you and your Spotify habit may no longer be an obstacle to an artist’s success. The bad news, though, is the new system sets up a world in which streaming is both default and devalued. Rather than choose between two sides—placating artists by coming out against streaming, or embracing streaming as the will of the people—the RIAA has chosen to stake out a middle ground that’s a solution for neither, and an affront to both.”

Read the full story here.