Music recording sales certification

An album needs a lot of sales to be a gold or platinum album

A music recording sales certification is the award system that a country uses for music sales.

Almost all countries have a type of sales certification, often using RIAA certification categories (such as gold, platinum and diamond). The number of sales that an album needs before it gets an award is different in each country, depending on the population of the country. In some sales certifications, there may be different awards for the type of music recording sold, such as albums, singles, or videos.

United States Media Silver Gold Platinum Diamond Album 100,000 500,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 Single 100,000 500,000 1,000,000 10,000,000 Music video 25,000 50,000 100,000 N/A

United Kingdom Media Silver Gold Platinum Album 60,000 100,000 300,000 Single 200,000 400,000 600,000 Music video N/A 25,000 50,000

Music Recording Sales Certification Media

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  A wall of Gold and Platinum records on display at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

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  "Uranium disc" granted to Raphael by his label Hispavox in 1980

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  Gold record presented to Artie Schroeck for his arrangement on "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", 1967

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  Platinum record awarded to Michael Jackson's Thriller by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In the U.S, a recording standard album/single must ship one million units to be certified Platinum.

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  Somali singer Saado Ali Warsame receiving a gold record Lifetime Achievement Award