Music recording certification
A Gold album is a music album that has sold a minimum number of copies (in the United States, currently 500,000 sales). Originally applied to LP records, this RIAA certification is now most commonly awarded for compact disc sales.
A larger number of sales qualifies for the award of a Platinum album (in the U.S., currently 1,000,000 sold), or Diamond album (in the U.S., currently 10,000,000 sold). Similar awards are also less commonly quoted for individual recordings (singles), videos, and increasingly for DVDs.
The number of sales required for these awards vary depending on the population of the territory in which the album is released. Normally they are awarded only to albums released at least nationally, and are awarded individually for each country in which the album is sold.
The original 'gold record' awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicise the achievement of 1,000,000 sales. The first of these was awarded by RCA to Glenn Miller in February 1942, celebrating 1,200,000 sales of "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Another example of a company award is the gold record awarded to Elvis Presley in 1956 for 1,000,000 sales of the single "Hound Dog". Several different thresholds have been in use at different times and places for both album and single awards. Some of these were based on units sold and others on the value of retail sales. The first official designation of a "Gold Record" by the RIAA was established for singles in 1958. On March 14 1958 the RIAA certified Perry Como's hit single "Catch a Falling Star" as its first ever "gold record". Later that year, the Elvis Presley hit "Hard Headed Woman" became the first rock and roll single to earn the RIAA designation.
This has led to controversy over how to determine the placings for the biggest selling artists of all time, and claims that some gold albums should be disregarded or even retrospectively withdrawn although they were legitimately awarded at the time.
Like many record industry awards and rankings, the measurement is usually based on wholesale shipments to all types of retail outlets, not actual retail sales or financial transactions. This means that an early award or ranking for a new release reflects a distributor's expectations for the album and their market power.
Examples of thresholds for albums
| Country | Certifier | Thresholds | Info as of | |||
| Silver | Gold | Platinum | Diamond | |||
| Australia | ARIA | - | 35,000 | 70,000 | - | 2003 |
| Brazil | ABPD | - | 50,000 | 125,000 | 500,000 | - |
| Canada | CRIA | - | 50,000 | 100,000 | - | 2005 |
| Germany | IFPI | - | 100,000 | 200,000 | - | 2005 |
| Ireland | IRMA | - | 7,500 | 10,000 | - | - |
| Japan | RIAJ | - | 100,000 | 250,000 | - | 2004 |
| New Zealand | RIANZ | - | 7,500 | 15,000 | - | - |
| United Kingdom | BPI | 60,000 | 100,000 | 300,000 | - | - |
| USA | RIAA | - | 500,000 | 1,000,000 | 10,000,000 | 2005 |
Examples of other thresholds
In Australia for music videos including Audio Visual DVDs, gold represents 7,500 sales, platinum 15,000.
In Canada, for music videos including Audio Visual DVDs, gold represents 5,000 sales, platinum 10,000, and diamond 100,000.
In Germany, the recognitions are given by the record labels, who report to the IFPI Deutschland/Bundesverband Phono. The thresholds for gold singles are 150,000 singles; to get platinum, 300,000 singles have to have been sold.
In Ireland, for singles three categories are recognised; silver is 7,500 sales, gold 10,000, and platinum 15,000.
In New Zealand, for singles, the thresholds are 5,000 sales for gold and 10,000 for platinum. For music videos including Audio Visual DVDs, the thresholds are 2,500 sales for gold and 5,000 for platinum.
In the United Kingdom, for singles, the thresholds are: 200,000 for silver, 400,000 for gold, and 600,000 for platinum.
For other awards and thresholds in USA see RIAA certification.