J. Cole’s First Two Albums Have Officially Went Platinum!

Congrats to Cole. Well deserved…his first two albums Cole World: A Sideline Story and his sophomore set Born Sinner have both been officially declared platinum status after the RIAA changed it’s rules. Hit the jump.


(Photos) TDE’s CEO Blasts RIAA’s New Certification Rules: “No Cheat Codes To Platinum”

Monday (February 1) was a huge day for the music industry. RIAA CEO Cary Sherman announced that they will now be factoring in streaming numbers when tracking album sales. Under the new system,  RIAA will count every 1,500 audio or video streams as 10 equivalent sales.This came as great news for artists like Big Sean and TDE’s own Kendrick Lamar who with this new system, received new certifications. Not everyone was happy with the new system however, not even TDE’s CEO Anthony Tiffith despite his artist finally going platinum. Tiffith took to Twitter to blasts the new regulations. He wrote,

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.

Click the gallery for more.


The RIAA Adds Streaming To Album Certifications; Big Sean, Kendrick + More Now Platinum!

Effective today, February 1, the RIAA will now include audio and video streams and a track sale equivalent in gold and platinum album certifications. While Billboard and Nielsen Soundscan began factoring streaming in some time ago, artists were still not being awarded for going gold or platinum until they were all via traditional sales. In 2013, RIAA first added on-demand streams to its Digital Single Award only, and now they have adapted to the times once again, as streaming continues to grow rapidly in popularity. To calculate the formula for album certification, 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video song streams will equal 10 single sales, which is 1 album sale. (In the same token, if 10 singles are purchased on iTunes, that is also 1 album sale.) For single certification, they have now updated the 2013 formula from 100 on-demand streams = 1 download to 150 on-demand streams = 1 download. This update was done “to reflect streaming’s enormous growth in the two plus years since that ratio was set.”


Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ Just Became The First Album To Be Certified 30x Platinum

And the greatest just became greater. Today, the RIAA announced that Michael Jackson’s iconic album Thriller (released in 1982,) just became the first album ever to be certified platinum a whopping 30 times in the United States. Worldwide, he’s at over 100 million for the project. Insane. Check out a statement from RIAA chairman and CEO Cary Sherman below.


All Hail: The Best Selling Digital Artist Title Goes To RIHANNA

This is why Rihanna is my girl crush – number two to TRINA! The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has just announced RiRi as the best selling digital artist, and the first artist to cross 100 million song certifications – gold and platinum certifications. According to a press release from the RIAA, Rihanna has 48 million new RIAA Digital Single Certifications, which count download sales and on-demand streams in the United States. Hit the jump for more.


Go Yonce! Beyonce’s New Album Hits Platinum!

We knew this was coming! After less than 2 weeks since its release, BEYONCÉ has officially been certified platinum. Merry Christmas from The Carter’s!


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