RIAA Finally Adds Streaming To Gold, Platinum Album Certifications

Almost every corner of the music industry is changing to accommodate the rapid shift from music purchase to streaming. To that list add the RIAA, who have finally added music streams to the equation that calculates Gold and Platinum Album awards.

In a long overdue change, the RIAA is revamping its methodology to include on-demand audio and video streams and a track sale equivalents to its Gold & Platinum Album Awards. On-demand streams were added to its Digital Single Award calculations back in 2013. Awards are given at the benchmarks: 500,000 (Gold), 1,000,000 (Platinum) and 2,000,000 plus (multi-Platinum).

The New Formulas

Album Award: 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video song streams = 10 track sales = 1 album saleDigital Single Award: updated from 100 on-demand streams = 1 download to 150 on-demand streams = 1 download "to reflect streaming’s enormous growth in the last two years."

“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,” said Cary Sherman, Chairman and CEO, RIAA. “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.”