2012 RIAA Album Certifications

[areyoureadytojump]

January - June 2012 RIAA Album Certifications:

(I did not include Latin album certs and if there is not a title, it's the latest album by that artist.)

Bob Seger, Greatest Hits 9xp
Adele, 21 9xp

Adele, 21 8xp

Adele, 21 7xp

Adele, 21 6xp

Whitney Houston: The Greatest Hits, 5xp

Taylor Swift, Speak Now 4xp

Beach Boys, Sounds of Summer 3xp

Adele, 19 2xp
Queen, Platinum Collection (3cds) 2xp

Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded 1xp
Pink, Greatest Hits So Far 1xp
Britney Spears, Blackout 1xp
Florence & The Machine, Lungs 1xp
Three Dog Night, Millennium Collection, 1xp
Eric Church, Chief 1xp
Lionel Richie, Tuskegee 1xp
Luke Bryan, 1xp
Black Keys, Brothers 1xp
Tony Bennett, Duets 2 1xp
Tm McGraw, Number One Hits 1xp
Scotty McCreery, 1xp
Maroon 5, 1xp
Drake, 1xp
Rodney Carrington, Greatest Hits 1xp
Andrea Bocelli, The Best Of 1xp
Bob Seger, Greatest Hits 2 1xp

Carrie Underwood, Blown Away Gold
Erich Church, Sinners Like Me Gold
Gotye, Gold
Rascal Flatts, Gold
Hunger Games Sdtk., Gold
Cage The Elephant, Cage The Elephant Gold
White Zombie, Supersexy Swinging Sounds Gold
Kem, Intimacy Gold
Wow Hits 2011, Gold
One Direction, Gold
Brantley Gilbert, Gold
Tobymac, Tonight Gold
Nickelback, Gold
Mary J Blige, Gold
Billy Currington, Enjoy Yourself Gold
Taylor Swift, Holiday Collection Gold
Kirk Franklin, Hello Fear Gold
AC/DC, Iron Man 2 Sdtk. Gold
Young Jeezy, Gold
Johnny Cash, Best Of Johnny Cash Gold
Black Keys, Gold
LMFAO, Gold
Florence & The Machine, Gold
OneRepublic, Gold
Huey Lewis & The News, Greatest Hits Gold
Andrea Bocelli, Concerto One Night Gold
Toby Keith, Clancy's Tavern Gold

[Wavey✨️]

"Joung Jeezy"?

[areyoureadytojump]

Typo.

[areyoureadytojump]

Gold: 27
Platinum: 17
Multi-platinum: 10

Total: 54 certifications

Greatest Hits albums that were certified:

Bog Seger 9xp
Whitney Houston 5xp
Beach Boys 3xp
Pink 1xp
Bob Seeger 1xp
Three Dog Night 1xp
Tim McGraw 1xp
Rodney Carrington 1xp
Andrea Bocelli 1xp
John Cash Gold
Huey Lewis GH Gold

2012 Releases:

Lionel Richie 1xp
Nicki Minaj 1xp
One Direction Gold
Carrie Underwood Gold
Hunger Games Sdtk. Gold
Rascal Flatts Gold

[josh]

Wow. The 2012 certifications are horrible. 1D will be (SHOULD be, anyways ) 1xp any day now, and I would imagine Carrie will get to 1xp pretty easily as well. Definitely need Taylor and Gaga to get some big sales in the mix.

Oh and Madonna should be gold soon as well.

[bornfearless2000]

1D will cross 1 million next week/ two weeks top.

Carrie's Platinum plaque all depends on how well BLOWN AWAY single do in the chart. So far, the single has brought consistency to the album (14k in the last 3 weeks), i can see the album will go higher after they release the video. So maybe Carrie will definitely get that 1 platinum before the end of the year.

Taylor will DEFINITELY cross 1 million in 2 weeks top.

If Gaga has a $3.99 album deal again, she will pass 1 million in a week.

[areyoureadytojump]

^Gaga will not let a $3.99 sale happen again. She got so much flack for it.

[HolidayGuy]

^That was 99 cents- $3.99 is another matter.

Whitney Houston's The Greatest Hits has scanned around 2.565 million- so, it may soon be certified six-times platinum, signifying shipments of 3 million.

[Tea-why]

Yay Whitney :)

[areyoureadytojump]

Jul 22, 2012 10:54:34 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

^That was 99 cents- $3.99 is another matter.

Whitney Houston's The Greatest Hits has scanned around 2.565 million- so, it may soon be certified six-times platinum, signifying shipments of 3 million.

Yes, 99 cents. Still not going to happen.

6xp for Whitney looks doubtful for now.

Whitney's September album release is supposed to be a new GH album.

[areyoureadytojump]

July - September RIAA certifications:

Smashing Pumpkins, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness 10xp

Zac Brown Band, The Foundation 3xp

Casting Crowns, Casting Crowns 2xp
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Greatest Hits 2xp

Black Keys, El Camino 1xp
Postal Service, Give Up 1xp
Jason Aldean, Relentless 1xp
Kelly Clarkson, Stronger 1xp
Carrie Underwood, Blown Away 1xp
Rhianna, Talk That Talk 1xp
Keyshia Cole, A Different Me 1xp
One Direction, Up All Night 1xp
Justin Bieber, Believe 1xp
Trace Adkins, GH Vol. 2 1xp

Now 43 Gold
Rick Ross, God Forgives, I Don't Gold
Civil Wars, Barton Hollow Gold
Francesca Battistelli Gold
Kenny Chesney, Welcome to the Fishbowl Gold
Kid Cudi Gold
Red Hot Chili Peppers Gold
Pitbull, Planet Pitt Gold
Now That's What I Call Country Gold
Fun., Some Nights Gold
John Mayer, Born & Raised Gold
Country Strong Sdtk. Gold
Chris Tomlin Gold

[Agent Yoncé]

Sorry if I overlooked, but is Drake's "TAKE CARE" certified for 2x platinum yet? He's at 1.894m & counting.

[areyoureadytojump]

^Nope. If it was, I would list it.

We are waiting for:

Adele 10xp
Maroon 5 Gold
Linkin Park Gold
Zac Brown Band Gold
Madonna Gold
Bruce Springsteen Gold
Now 42 Gold
Five Finger Death Punch Gold
Justin Moore Gold

[dgarcia3377]

Did Evanescence's newest album ever get certified? I am just curious and had no idea where to ask this question.

[josh]

I don't think the album got anywhere near gold status. Maybe 300k sold.

[areyoureadytojump]

^The last figure I have is through 2/2012:

Evanescence: 359,439

That's not enough for Gold in the current sales climate.

[areyoureadytojump]

Oct 14, 2012 13:45:53 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

^Nope. If it was, I would list it.

We are waiting for:

Adele 10xp
Maroon 5 Gold
Linkin Park Gold
Zac Brown Band Gold
Madonna Gold
Bruce Springsteen Gold
Now 42 Gold
Five Finger Death Punch Gold
Justin Moore Gold

After writing this yesterday, look what showed up at the RIAA website this afternoon:

Madonna Gold
Five Finger Death Punch Gold

[dgarcia3377]

Thanks. I thought for some reason the album was more than 400k by now. I guess I am wrong then. But I am glad FFDP got their 3rd gold album.

[areyoureadytojump]

www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=gp-gold-platinum-news

New Fall Albums Notch Top RIAA Gold & Platinum Awards
November 08, 2012

Dave Matthews Band, Mumford & Sons and P!nk Earn Certifications

Havana Brown, Florida Georgia Line, Driicky Graham, Imagine Dragons, Kreayshawn and French Montana Receive First G&P Awards

Meanwhile, Madonna Gets 20th Career Gold

WASHINGTON – Three celebrated fall album releases certified Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Gold in just one month this October, according to the music group’s newest monthly Gold & Platinum certifications PDF, which can be accessed exclusively on RIAA’s G&P Facebook page (www.facebook.com/GoldandPlatinum).

Rockers Dave Matthews Band’s “Away From The World” (RCA Records), U.K. quartet Mumford & Sons’ second album “Babel” (Glassnote Records) and superstar P!nk’s first record in four years “Truth About Love” (RCA Records) each sold more than 500,000 album copies in October to earn golden awards.

Mumford & Sons also received their first double-Platinum download certification for “Little Lion Man” surpassing two million downloads sold in the United States, and their third Gold single award for their new track “I Will Wait.”

First-time digital song certifications reached rising stars Havana Brown, Florida Georgia Line, Driicky Graham, Imagine Dragons, Kreayshawn and French Montana in October. Australian pop singer Havana Brown earned both Gold AND Platinum honors for selling more than one million downloads of her hot dance track “We Run the Night” (Universal Republic). First Golds were awarded to country music duo Florida Georgia Line for “Cruise,” North Carolina rapper Driicky Graham for “Snapbacks & Tattoos,” Las Vegas indie band Imagine Dragons for “It’s Time,” No-Cal starlet Kreayshawn for “Gucci Gucci” and NY rapper French Montana for “Pop That.”

“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” certified 2x multi-Platinum in October, marking Taylor Swift’s sixth career double-Platinum song award. The Big Machine Records singer’s career digital certifications represent more than 33 million downloads sold spanning 25 songs.

Meanwhile popular summer songs “As Long As You Love Me” by Justin Bieber, “Otis” by Jay-Z and Kanye West and “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood were certified Platinum to denote more than one million downloads sold.

The RIAA awarded Madonna with her 20th career Gold album award for her March release “MDNA” (Interscope). With career certifications representing more than 64 million albums sold, Madonna is the RIAA’s second most awarded female solo artist after Barbra Streisand.

Ohio rock duo The Black Keys earned their second Platinum album award for their latest record “El Camino,” while electronic group the Postal Service earned their first Gold album award for “Give Up” (Sub Pop, 2003).

RIAA awarded 38 digital single and 8 album certifications in October. All certifications are calculated by Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman. Complete lists of all album, single, mastertone and video awards can be accessed at www.riaa.com.

[areyoureadytojump]

October RIAA album certifications:

Postal Service, Give Up 1xp
The Black Keys, El Camino 1xp
Madonna, MDNA Gold
Five Finger Death Punch, American Capitalist Gold
Casting Crowns, Come To The Well Gold
Mumford & Sons, Babel Gold (should be 1xp)
Pink, Truth About Love, Gold
Dave Matthews Band, Away From The World Gold

[areyoureadytojump]

November 2012 RIAA Album Certs

Adele, 21 10xp

Taylor Swift, Red 3xp

Rod Stewart, Merry Christmas Baby 1xp
Kenny Chesney, Greatest HIts II 1xp

Scotty McCreery, Christmas Gold
Hunter Hayes, Hunter Hayes Gold
Zac Brown Band, Uncaged Gold
Justin Moore, Outlaws Like Me Gold
Blake Shelton, Christmas Gold
Wow Hits 2012 Gold
The Monkees, Best Of Gold

[Deleted]

^Nice to see so many country albums getting certified!

[areyoureadytojump]

December 2012 RIAA Album Certifications:

Metallica, Metallica 16xp

Metallica, Ride The Lightning 6xp

One Direction 1xp
Jason Aldean 1xp
Pink 1xp
Mumford & Sons 1xp
Skillet 1xp

Of Monsters And Men Gold
Sara Evans GH Gold
Lumineers Gold
Kendrick Lamar Gold
2 Chainz Gold
Rolling Stones Gold
Lady Antebellum Gold
Little Big Town Gold
Justin Moore Gold
The Weeknd Gold
Third Day Gold

[areyoureadytojump]

www.riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=gp-gold-platinum-news

RIAA Tallies 2012's Top Gold & Platinum Achievements
January 29, 2013

Adele, Taylor Swift, Cary Rae Jepsen, Gotye & More End Year with Major Metal*** Digital Certifications Rise 70 Percent Since 2010*** Catalog Albums Take Top Annual Awards

WASHINGTON – The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today released its year-end tally of 2012 Gold & Platinum (G&P) Program awards.

In 2012, digital continued to dominate. The RIAA awarded more song download honors than any other year in program history, including a 70 percent increase during the past two years, a 25 percent increase year-over-year, and a record breaking 139 digital songs certified Platinum in 2012! In total, 524 digital songs certifications were awarded in 2012, vs. 409 in 2011, and 313 in 2010.

The RIAA also awarded a number of esteemed album certifications, including a prestigious Diamond award for Adele, whose “21” (XL Recordings/Columbia, 2011) became the first album in a decade to sell more than 10 million units in less than two years!

2012 RELEASES:

Taylor Swift earned 2012’s highest G&P album. Her October and fourth record release “Red” (Big Machine Records, Inc.) sold more than three million U.S. copies in just one month to become the RIAA’s top certified annual album at 3x multi-Platinum. Taylor’s terrific news comes on the heels of December G&P song awards for the songstress including a 3x multi-Platinum for “We Are Never Getting Back Together” and Platinums for “Red,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “Begin Again,” and “Eyes Open.” Taylor’s career digital RIAA song certifications now surpass 37 million sold since her career launch in 2006.

Call them 2012’s top-song-certified! Two songs tied for the top release of 2012 at 6x multi-Platinum: Canadian starlet Carly Rae Jepsen’s widely parodied Interscope/Geffen/A&M debut “Call Me Maybe” and Universal Republic soloist Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.” Gotye also earned his very first Gold album award in 2012 for “Making Mirrors,” which includes his hit song.

Four enormously acclaimed acts – Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Nicki Minaj, and One Direction – tied for the second highest song honor of the year: triple-Platinums for their respective 2012 releases “Boyfriend” (Island/Def Jam), “Payphone” (A&M/Octone), “Starships” (Universal Republic), and “What Makes You Beautiful” (Syco Music/Columbia Records). Added congrats to One D, whose triple-Platinum is the British band’s very first multi-Platinum nod!

Continuing their successful trend, many of music’s most popular artists earned Platinum album awards for their 2012 releases: Jason Aldean’s “Night Train” (Broken Bow, his fifth Platinum album), Justin Bieber’s “Believe” (Island, his fifth), Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” (Universal Republic, her second), Mumford & Sons’ “Babel” (Glassnote Records, their second), One Direction’s “Up All Night” (Syco Music/Columbia Records, their second), P!nk’s “Truth About Love” (RCA Records, her seventh), Lionel Richie’s “Tuskegee” (Mercury, his sixth), Rod Stewart’s “Merry Christmas, Baby” (Verve, his 19th), and Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away” (19 Recordings Limited/Arista Nashville, her fourth).

Five golden musicians had huge 2012 debuts as their first albums each sold more than 500,000 copies to certify RIAA Gold: Georgia rapper 2 Chainz’ “Based on a T.R.U. Story” (Def Jam), NYC pop band Fun.’s “Some Nights” (Fueled By Ramen), Icelandic folk band Of Monsters and Men’s “My Head Is An Animal” (Republic Records), folk-rick trio The Lumineers’ “The Lumineers” (Dualtone Music Group, Inc.), and rapper Abel Tesfaye’s, a.k.a.The Weeknd’s, “Trilogy” (Republic Records).

RIAA awarded three breakout stars first time double-Platinum song awards in 2012: American Idol season eleven winner Phillip Phillips for “Home” (Interscope/Geffen/A&M), South Korean YouTube sensation PSY for “Gangnam Style” (Universal Republic), and Cali rapper Tyga for “Rack City” (Universal Republic).

Eight spectacular musical acts earned their very first Gold AND Platinum digital song awards for selling more than one million downloads of their respective 2012 songs: country music duo Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” (Republic Nashville), Las Vegas alt-rockers Imagine Dragon’s “It’s Time” (Kidinakorner/Interscope), Pop pair Karmin’s “Brokenhearted” (Epic), English singer-rapper Cher Lloyd’s “Want U Back” (Epic), five-person ensemble Of Monsters And Men’s “Little Talks” (Universal Republic), and Denver rockers The Lumineers’ “Ho Hey” (Dualtone Music Group, Inc.).

Pre-2012 Releases:

In addition to Adele’s amazing “21” Diamond accolade, the RIAA awarded one additional Diamond honor in 2012 to the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness” (Virgin, 1995) for selling more than 10 million units in the United States.

Other catalogue albums rising to the top of 2012’s G&P count include Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band’s 1994 “Greatest Hits” album soaring to 9x multi-Platinum, the beloved Whitney Houston’s 2000 record “Whitney: The Greatest Hits” reaching 5x multi-Platinum, Taylor Swift’s 2010 release “Speak Now” certifying 4x multi-Platinum, Zac Brown Band’s first and 2008 album “The Foundation” certifying 3x multi-Platinum, and The Beach Boys 2003 release “Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys” earning 3x multi-Platinum.

It was a solid year for G&P award regulars Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw who earned their respective eleventh and tenth career Platinum album awards for their popular releases “Greatest Hits II” and “Number One Hits!”

In first-class country music company, the RIAA awarded crooners Luke Bryan, Eric Church, and Scotty McCreery their very first Platinum album awards for their respective 2011 releases “Tailgates & Taglines” (Capitol Nashville), “Chief” (EMI Records Nashville), and “Clear As Day” (Mercury Nashville).

First-time Gold album accolades were earned by certifiably popular musicians Hunter Hayes for “Hunter Hayes” (Atlantic), Kendrick Lamar for “Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City” (Top Dog/Aftermath/Interscope Records), LMFAO for “Sorry For Party Rocking” (Interscope), and The Civil Wars for “Barton Hollow” (Sensibility Music, LLC).

Celebrations were in order in 2012 when The Black Eyed Peas earned the G&P Program’s highest digital single award in history upon certifying Interscope song “I Gotta Feeling” 8x multi-Platinum. As a group, The Peas currently have more digital singles certified than any other band: 22 million.
Two stellar acts came close to The Peas’ feat by earning 7x multi-Platinum digital song certifications: Adele with her top selling track to-date “Rolling In The Deep” and LMFAO’s club hit “Party Rock Anthem.” Adele, LMFAO, and The Peas are the only three acts in G&P history to earn prestigious 7x multi-Platinum awards.

It was a strong year for English acts Ellie Goulding and Alex Clare. Both artists earned their very first multi-Platinum plaques, with Ellie earning a 3x multi-Platinum for “Lights” (Interscope/Geffen/A&M) and Alex a 2x multi-Platinum for “Too Close” (Universal Republic).

While a record breaking 139 digital songs certified Platinum in 2012, notable first-time Platinum plaques were awarded to Eric Church’s “Springsteen” (EMI Records Nashville), Gavin DeGraw’s “Not Over You” (RCA Records), Dev’s “In The Dark” (Universal Records), Calvin Harris’ “Feel So Close” (Ultra Music), J. Cole’s “Work Out” (Roc Nation/Columbia), Little Big Town’s “Pontoon” (Capitol Records Nashville), Kip Moore’s “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck” (MCA Nashville), Jerrod Niemann’s “Lover, Lover” (Sea Gayle Records/Arista Nashville), Outasight’s “Tonight Is The Night” (Warner Bros. Records), Skillet’s “Monster” (Atlantic Records), and Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” (Big Beat).

Of the 253 Gold single certifications awarded by the RIAA in 2012, numerous first ever Golds were earned by talented acts including Pistol Annies’ for “Hell On Heels” (RCA Records), Avicii’s “Levels” (Interscope/Geffen/A&M), Steven Curtis Chapman’s “Cinderella” (Sparrow), Jana Kramer’s “Why Ya Wanna” (Elektra Nashville), Kreayshawn’s “Gucci Gucci,” (Columbia), Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin Bout You” (Island/Def Jam), Sixx:A.M.’s “Life Is Beautiful” (Eleven Seven Music),Tenth Avenue North’s “By Your Side” (Reunion Records), The Airborne Toxic Event’s “Sometime Around Midnight” (Mercury), The Naked And Famous’ “Young Blood” (Universal Republic), and TobyMac’s “City On Our Knees” (Forefront Records).

In 2012 the RIAA awarded a total of 155 album and 524 digital single certifications. All certifications are calculated by Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman. Complete lists of all album, single, mastertone and video awards can also be accessed at www.riaa.com

[josh]

Taylor sold 3 million copies of Red in a month? ???

[CookyMonzta]

Oct 14, 2012 22:23:12 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

^The last figure I have is through 2/2012:

Evanescence: 359,439

That's not enough for Gold in the current sales climate.

They thought so with J-Hud's 2nd album.

Just one question: How many albums sold 500,000 in 2012? 1 million? 2 million?

[areyoureadytojump]

^Look in the 2012 YTD Sales thread. All the answers are there.

10 albums sold over 1 million copies in 2012.

[CookyMonzta]

Feb 10, 2013 13:35:53 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

^Look in the 2012 YTD Sales thread. All the answers are there.

10 albums sold over 1 million copies in 2012.

I found it.

www.pulsemusic.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=gmn&action=display&thread=111991&page=7

Absolutely pathetic. Only 2 albums sold 2 million (one a holdover from 2011), 10 sold 1 million and 43 sold 500,000 in 2012. The average of the top 10 was 1.77 million (which could have been worse if not for Adele).

In the year 2000, there were 32 albums selling 2 million, 88 selling a million and 202 selling 500,000! The average of the top 10 was 6.04 million.

Is the death of the CD lurking? Not as obvious as the death of the album. The music industry will become even more dependent on singles sales via download, because last year's average of the top 10 selling albums represents a 70% drop in sales from 2000 (it was 60% at the end of 2009).

Soon enough, it will not be in anyone's interest to record a full album. The CD will become the realm of the catalog album or greatest-hits album; and if I'm not mistaken, they now assume the lion's share of CD sales.

File-sharing is not to blame here. It is nothing more than a scapegoat for the failure of the industry to change with the times and its failure to capitalize on the changes in technology, along with its failure to anticipate those changes. That, along with old-fashioned greed, will be the downfall of the major players in the industry. They have no one to blame but themselves.

When sales of the top 10 albums declines to an average of less than a million (which I predict will be the case by 2019), eventually the future of the industry will follow a path similar to this:

theoatmeal.com/comics/music_industry

So much the better.

[bat1990]

That webcomic speaks volumes.

[areyoureadytojump]

Feb 10, 2013 1:58:07 GMT -5 CookyMonzta said:

Oct 14, 2012 22:23:12 GMT -5 areyoureadytojump said:

^The last figure I have is through 2/2012:

Evanescence: 359,439

That's not enough for Gold in the current sales climate.

They thought so with J-Hud's 2nd album.

Just one question: How many albums sold 500,000 in 2012? 1 million? 2 million?

You cannot compare numbers between acts. You have to compare circumstances.

Jennifer Hudson's Gold certification was done "out of the box." After 30 days at retail. That's when album/single/video can first be certified.

After JHud's 2nd single failed to ignite sales, you know some those 500,000 copies were returned to her label.

If they had waited to certify it Gold (like Evanescence's label did) the certification might not have happened.

That 360k number for Evanescence was after months and months at retailers. Unsold copies were returned to the label so a Gold certifcation was not possible.