Dec

8

2011

Music Minute!

Written by Trent | Filed under Music Minute

Did you know that the certifications awarded to albums do not reflect how many copies of those records were actually sold in stores?

Certifications generally reflect shipments from labels to retail outlets and not the purchases made by consumers from those retailers. In addition, these shipments may include sales made by record clubs, such as the now defunct BMG Music Club, where music is sold directly to consumers by label distributors.

For an album, DVD or single to be certified, a record label has to request and pay for the certification. The label has to provide all legal documentation that prove the shipments of the record to retailers as well as direct-to-consumer club sales, and these figures are then verified by the RIAA, for instance, in an audit.

It is impossible for a record to be over-certified. However, it could be under-certified if the respective label does not pursue the latest certification details. Hence, the record may have shipped more than the figure indicated by its certification and it is the responsibility of the label to ensure that the information is regularly updated.

So which organisation is responsible for record certifications in the US and Canada? The RIAA is currently in charge of that task. On the other hand, retail sales are monitored by Nielsen SoundScan.

Now you know!

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Keys: music minute, riaa

16 Comments

1. Romeo says:

   December 8, 2011 at 10:22 am

   That’s why Britney Spears and Beyonce have been certified Platinum without selling a million copies! smh
2. DW says:

   December 8, 2011 at 10:36 am

   in a way thats sorta wack
3. Heir says:

   December 8, 2011 at 10:50 am

   Well in Beyonce’s defense, her album is at 950k +, it will def sell 1 million copies here in the states. u kno that and so do i…. if it was still in the 700k area like Brit and its been out since March, then that would be a different story……. Instead of always having to be so negative towards Beyonce, think before u all comment!
4. explicit_music says:

   December 8, 2011 at 12:14 pm

   Both Rated R and Loud were certified platinum before they actually sold 1 million copies
5. DOMOdotSCORE says:

   December 8, 2011 at 1:27 pm

   For years, I thought certifications were based on sales. It should be based on sales. If this is the case, then certifications mean nothing because they don’t truly reflect the public’s feelings about the artist. You can sell only 100k but still say that the album is platinum because you put 1 million CDs on the shelves.
   So it’s basically working on the eventual. They ship out 500k to 1 million, hoping that eventually all the shipments will sold. That’s kind of a easy way out because you don’t have to sell a million to be a platinum artist. Wow.
6. Ni says:

   December 8, 2011 at 3:13 pm

   Thanks finally! I had a feel that how certifications works. Very interesting….Music business has always been shady..
7. therightstuff says:

   December 8, 2011 at 4:53 pm

   well merchants are not going to accept huge inflated shipments unless they feel that their is a market and the cds will eventually sell for the most part.

   Labels don’t arbitrarily ship platinum or multiplatinum for just any artist. They have a good idea of demand as merchants can send unsold copies back and the RIAA doesn’t certify until after 30 days.

   You’re not going to have Jive ship 1mil copies of Ciara cd. Most likely htey shipped 300k. Mariah, Whitney, Mary J blige probably had 1mil shipped. Taylor shift probably 2mil as did Gaga. Keri Hilson probably 300-500k. Monica’s last cd probably 250-300k first shipment then restocked as demand was great for another 300k or so.
8. Sunshine says:

   December 8, 2011 at 8:16 pm

   Its WAY TOO MUCH trickery in the music industry.
9. theman says:

   December 9, 2011 at 12:12 am

   It makes sense, if they only sent out just enough they could be undershipping. They ship the albums according to the albums demand. 100 to 200k is close enough.
10. dannbfly says:

    December 9, 2011 at 3:23 am

    Janet jacksons catalogue needs updating! Just saying
11. Rihannastan says:

    December 9, 2011 at 5:10 am

    That’s why I know Mariah hasn’t sold anywhere NEAR 200 mill, alot of it is shipments
12. DRB says:

    December 9, 2011 at 6:43 am

    I’m shocked people are shocked. This seems like common knowledge.
    I know of the BMG club b/c as a former Mariah stan she’d have a ton of albums sold through them. Music Box and Daydream sold 7m+ through stores and yet they’re diamond. Butterfly’s Nielson sales sit at 3.5m but its 5x platinum.
13. niki says:

    December 10, 2011 at 2:55 am

    I thought this was common knowledge.
14. Celebrating 200 Music Minutes! :: The Lava Lizard says:

    February 8, 2012 at 2:41 pm

    [...] Did you know that the certifications awarded to albums do not reflect how many copies of those records were actually sold in stores? Read more here! [...]
15. Mike says:

    February 11, 2012 at 4:26 pm

    I always wondered how recording artist would go platinum but the album failed to reach the top 50 on Billboard’s top 200..
16. Marcus Boldosser says:

    March 28, 2012 at 7:08 am

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