Gold & Platinum - RIAA (2024)

FAQs

What is RIAA gold and platinum? ›

RIAA's historic Gold® & Platinum® Program defines success in the recorded music industry. Originally conceived to honor artists and track sound recording sales, Gold & Platinum Awards have come to stand as a benchmark of success for any artist—whether they've just released their first song or Greatest Hits album.

These awards, given by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), represent huge sales—500,000 units for gold, 1 million for platinum, 2 million or more for multiplatinum, and 10 million for diamond.

Gold when it ships 500,000 copies. Platinum when it ships 1,000,000 copies. Multi-Platinum when it ships at least 2,000,000 copies.

Garth Brooks has received seven Diamond awards for seven individual albums from the RIAA for selling over ten million units each, a feat only he can claim, and is the No. 1 selling solo artist in U.S. history certified by the RIAA with over 138 million album sales.

Autographed RIAA awards made available to fans:

These awards do typically appreciate in value since they are issued in limited numbers of 100 or 200, or occasionally more. While not many artists have released these awards, the ones that have been issued have for the most part increased in value.

The Golden Beatles

More than 50 years later, the band is the most-awarded band in Gold & Platinum Program history.

1 hits from the same tracklist: "Teenage Dream," "Last Friday Night," "California Gurls," "Firework," and "E.T." She was only the second artist ever to do so, following Michael Jackson (who has two diamond-certified albums). An album needs to be certified 10-times platinum in order to achieve diamond status.

Chart: Taylor Swift Retains Crown of World's No. 1 Recording Artist | Statista.

"Old Town Road" was certified 15-times platinum on September 17, 2021. It has since been certified 17-times platinum, as of November 29, 2022. "Closer" was certified 15-times platinum on November 2, 2022. "Sunflower" was certified 17-times platinum on November 14, 2022.

Who is the biggest artist of all time? ›

Which is more valuable gold or platinum? Because platinum rings are heavier, rarer, and more pure than gold, they are more valuable. Even though pure gold may be more expensive per ounce, because platinum is denser, more of it is used when making a ring.

The platinum certification was introduced in 1976 for the sale of one million units for albums and two million for singles, with the gold certification redefined to mean sales of 500,000 units for albums and one million for singles.

This is because platinum is rarer than gold, has a higher density and is purer. Platinum rings require more platinum than gold rings require gold, which can increase the overall cost. While gold can increase in value the higher the karat, platinum is almost always worth more than gold.

It is rarer than gold, and much heavier and harder. Because of its hardness, platinum can be used in a purer form than gold. Usually at about 95%. Platinum jewelelry is consequently more expensive than gold jewellery.

If you think your single or album has sold more than 500,000 copies (gold) or 1,000,000 copies (platinum) in the US, or streamed the equivalent*, please let us know. We'll verify your numbers & work with the RIAA to get you certified.

What does going platinum mean? Going platinum is a music industry term used to describe a single or album that sells one million copies or more. If something has gone platinum, it's extremely successful, or a smash hit.

'Going Gold' is the music industry's parlance for selling 500,000 copies of an album. 'Going Platinum' means the album has gone to the next step, doubling the sales to 1 million copies.