LOS ANGELES -- The Recording Industry Association of America is slowly, ever so slowly, accepting this whole streaming thing.
The RIAA announced Monday that it will now include streaming in determining an album's Gold or Platinum status. Effective right this second, 1,500 on-demand audio and video streams will equate to one album sale, the organization said in a statement. (An album has to move 500,000 copies to achieve Gold status and 1 million for Platinum.)
The news comes two years after the RIAA began counting streaming toward its Digital Single Award, meaning they'll count both sales and streams for single and album certificates.
RIAA CEO Cary Sherman said in a statement:
“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,” . “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.”
That means 17 albums have now either achieved Gold or Platinum status, or new heights in Multi-Platinum status. Michael Jackson's 1982 monster Thriller hit 32X multi-platinum status, which, when you consider the fact that an album has to move 2 million copies to be multi-platinum, means a lot.
Elsewhere, Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-nominated To Pimp a Butterfly hit Platinum, alongside Miranda Lambert's now aptly titled Platinum and Shawn Mendes' debut Handwritten, among others. Several artists, including Halsey and Grammy nominee Elle King, who hit Gold status, celebrated on Twitter.
I've been waiting weeks to tell you guys Badlands went gold and I wanted to wait to post a cool plaque but I COULDNT WAIT! Thank you.
— HALSEY (@halsey) February 1, 2016
This is so insane. Thank you thank you thank you. pic.twitter.com/sgzmz7ymMr — Elle King (@ElleKingMusic) February 1, 2016
But Anthony Tiffith, CEO of Lamar's Top Dawg Entertainment, found the whole thing dubious: "we don't stand behing this @RIAA bs," he wrote. "ole skool rules apply, 1 million albums sold is platinum." No word on whether "we" includes Lamar, but so far he has yet to comment on his Gold status on Twitter.
we don't stand behind this @RIAA bs. ole skool rules apply, 1 million albums sold is platinum.until we reach that #, save all the congrats.
— dangeroo kipawaa TDE (@dangerookipawaa) February 1, 2016
As Thriller achieved 32X Multi-Platinum, Romeo Santos' “Fórmula Vol. 2” hit 11X Diamond, Sam Hunt's debut Montevallo hit 2X Multi-Platinum alongside The Weeknd's Grammy-nominated Beauty Behind the Madness.
GOLD
Alt-J, An Awesome Wave
Brett Eldredge, Bring You Back
Elle King, Love Stuff
Fifth Harmony Reflection
Halsey, Badlands
Vance Joy, Dream Your life Away
Wale, Ambition
PLATINUM
Big Sean, Dark Sky Paradise
Coldplay, Ghost Stories
Hozier, Hozier
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
Miranda Lambert, Platinum
Shawn Mendez, Handwritten