RIAA DECADE-END WINNERS

[Creme de la Creme]

RIAA EXAMINES DECADE-END WINNERS

NSYNC, Usher, Shania Twain Are the ‘Oughts’ Top Sellers

February 17, 2010


Hey, you guys remember the RIAA?


They give out the gold and platinum albums, used to bust bootleg pirates back in the day. This week, they revealed their list of the biggest sellers from 2000-2009.


Even Chairman/CEO Mitch Bainwol took some time out of prosecuting illegal file-sharers to issue a quote. “We’ve seen a decade of major music milestones and extraordinary artist achievements as part of our historic gold and platinum program. The names, songs and albums on our list are the decade’s best and are etched in our music DNA.”

“As the way fans access and enjoy music continues to evolve, so has and will the G&P program in recognizing the highest commercial and artistic success,” added Bainwol. “As a community, we’ve endured our share of challenges, but the new decade brings reasons for hope and optimism. The appetite for music is stronger than ever and the breadth of innovation is amazing. In this ever-evolving landscape, we’re grateful that the RIAA’s Gold and Platinum program continues to be the music industry’s recognized brand for success.”


The RIAA’s gold and platinum program was officially launched in 1958. In 2004, the RIAA formally expanded that program to include a Digital Sales. Two years later, in 2006, the Master Ringtone Sales Award was established.


The decade’s big winner was NSYNC’s 2000 No Strings Attached album, the first to earn an RIAA diamond award, marking more than 10 million in U.S. sales, an honor also achieved by Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, Shania Twain’s Up!, Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory, Usher’s Confessions and Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me, among others.


The following are the decade’s highest gold and platinum award achievements:

Most total certifications (includes cumulative album, digital song, master ringtone and music video certifications):

Group: The Eagles—48 (WMG)
Male solo artist: Michael Jackson—44 (Sony/Epic)
Female solo artist: Beyonce—64 (Sony/Columbia)


Most album certifications:
Group: Nickelback—25 (Roadrunner)
Male solo artist: George Strait—29 (UMG/MCA Nashville)
Female solo artist: Britney Spears—23 (Sony/Jive)


Most digital song certifications:
Group: Linkin Park—13 (WMG)
Male solo artist: Kanye West—19 (UMG/Def Jam)
Female solo artist: Taylor Swift—25 (Big Machine)


Most master ringtone certifications:
Male solo artist: T.I.—15 (WMG/Atlantic/Grand Hustle)
Female solo artist: Beyonce—19 (Sony/Columbia)


HIGHEST CERTIFIED RELEASES



Highest certified album:

Group: *NSYNC’s No Strings Attached (Sony/Jive, 2000) 11x Platinum/OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (LaFace/Jive, 2003) 11x Platinum
Male solo artist: Usher’s Confessions (LaFace/Jive, 2004) 10x Platinum
Female solo artist: Shania Twain’s Up! (UMG/Mercury Nashville, 2002) 11x Platinum


Highest certified digital song:
Group: Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” (EMI, Capitol, 2008) 3x multi-platinum and The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” (Sony/Epic, 2006) 3x multi-Platinum
Male solo artist: Flo Rida’s “Low” (Warner/Atlantic, 2008) 5x multi-Platinum
Female solo artist: Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” (UMG/Interscope) 4x multi-platinum and Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” (Big Machine, 2008) 4x multi-platinum


Highest certified master ringtone:
Group: D4L’s “Laffy Taffy” (Atlantic, 2006) 3x multi-platinum; Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel” (Universal Records, 2006) 3x multi-platinum, and Shop Boyz’ “Party Like a Rockstar” (Universal Records) 3x multi-platinum
Male solo artist: Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” (Universal/Cash Money) 5x multi-platinum (Universal/Cash Money, 2008)
Female solo artist: Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” (Sony/ Columbia, 2006) 3x multi-platinum

www.hitsdailydouble.com/news/newsPage.cgi

RIAA Tallies The Decade's Top Gold & Platinum Award Winners

WASHINGTON -- The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today released a tally of the decade's highest Gold and Platinum award achievements.

Included in the RIAA’s 2000-2009 count (below) are the artists who received the most G&P certifications, the best selling music releases, and a timeline of notable decade dates.

“We’ve seen a decade of major music milestones and extraordinary artist achievements as part of our historic Gold and Platinum program,” said Mitch Bainwol, Chairman and CEO, RIAA. “The names, songs and albums on our list are the decade’s best and are etched in our music DNA.”

“As the way fans access and enjoy music continues to evolve, so has and will the G&P program in recognizing the highest commercial and artistic success,” added Bainwol. “As a community, we’ve endured our share of challenges, but the new decade brings reasons for hope and optimism. The appetite for music is stronger than ever and the breadth of innovation is amazing. In this ever-evolving landscape, we’re grateful that the RIAA’s Gold and Platinum program continues to be the music industry’s recognized brand for success.”

While the RIAA’s Gold and Platinum program was officially launched in 1958, the past decade included a number of significant milestones:

On May 10, 2001 Sony/Jive boy band *NSYNC’s No Strings Attached (2000) became the first album of the decade to earn an RIAA Diamond award marking more than ten million in U.S. sales. The decade of Diamond albums that followed -- from Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory to Norah Jones’ Come Away With Me and more -- represent some of the best and most influential recordings in G&P history.

In 2004 the RIAA formally expanded its G&P program to include a Digital Sales award in endorsement of the significant sales of emerging digital music formats. Two years later, in 2006, the RIAA launched the Master Ringtone Sales Award to recognize the growing popularity of enjoying music through cellular phones.

Come 2008 the RIAA heralded the 50th anniversary of its historic Gold Record, marking 50 years to the day Elvis was awarded his first Gold award for “Hard Headed Woman,” one of the King’s 53 Gold single certifications from the RIAA.

Several of the decade’s best awards were presented in 2009, including the best-selling digital download of all time -- at 5x multi-Platinum -- to Warner/Atlantic rapper Flo Rida for his hit “Low” as well as the highest certified ringtone ever to Universal/Cash Money artist Lil Wayne for his hot phone tone “Lollipop,” also at 5x multi-Platinum.

The following are the decade’s highest Gold and Platinum award achievements:

TOP ARTIST TALLIES

*Each level of multi-Platinum counts as its own unit and contributes to the tally
*Only music released, as well as certifications granted, during 2000 - 2009 are included


Most total certifications (includes cumulative album, digital song, master ringtone, and music video certifications):

Group: The Eagles – 48 (Warner)

Male solo artist: Michael Jackson – 44 (Sony/Epic)

Female solo artist: Beyonce – 64 (Sony/Columbia)

Most album certifications:

Group: Nickelback – 25 (Roadrunner)

Male solo artist: George Strait – 29 (UMG/MCA Nashville)

Female solo artist: Britney Spears – 23 (Sony/Jive)



Most digital song certifications:

Group: Linkin Park – 13 (Warner)

Male solo artist: Kanye West – 19 (UMG/Def Jam)

Female solo artist: Taylor Swift – 25 (Big Machine)


Most master ringtone certifications:

Male solo artist: T.I. – 15 (WMG/Atlantic/Grand Hustle)

Female solo artist: Beyonce – 19 (Sony/Columbia)

HIGHEST CERTIFIED RELEASES

*Format is: (record label/year released)




Highest certified album:



Group: *NSYNC’s No Strings Attached (Sony/Jive, 2000), – 11x Platinum & OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below – 11x Platinum (LaFace/Jive, 2003)

Male solo artist: Usher’s Confessions – 10x Platinum (LaFace/Jive, 2004)

Female solo artist: Shania Twain’s Up! – 11x Platinum (UMG/Mercury Nashville, 2002)



Highest certified digital song:

Group: Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” – 3x multi-Platinum (EMI/Capitol, 2008) and The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” – 3x multi-Platinum (Sony/Epic, 2006)

Male solo artist: Flo Rida’s “Low” – 5x multi-Platinum (Warner/Atlantic, 2008)

Female solo artist: Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” – 4x multi-Platinum (UMG/Interscope, 2008) and Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” – 4x multi-Platinum (Big Machine, 2008)

Highest certified master ringtone:

Group: D4L’s “Laffy Taffy” – 3x multi-Platinum (Atlantic, 2006), Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel” – 3x multi-Platinum (Universal Records, 2006), and Shop Boyz’ “Party Like a Rockstar” –3x multi-Platinum (Universal, 2007)

Male solo artist: Lil Wayne’s “Lollipop” – 5x multi-Platinum (Universal/Cash Money, 2008)

Female solo artist: Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” – 3x multi-Platinum (Sony/Columbia, 2006)


NOTABLE DECADE DATES


January 3, 2000 LeAnn Rimes’ self-titled 1999 Curb album becomes the decade’s first Platinum album


May 10, 2001 *NSYNC’s 2000 Jive album No Strings Attached is certified the first decade’s Diamond album of the decade


July 29, 2003 The decade’s top certified artist – Beyonce – receives her very first Gold album award for Dangerously in Love (Columbia, 2003). The album is currently 4x multi-Platinum


September 23, 2004 The decade’s highest certified album by a female solo artist – Shania Twain’s Up! – reaches 11x multi-Platinum


October 22, 2004 Digital Single award introduced. 45 titles were included in the initial group of certifications, encompassing tracks from each major recording company and representing nearly every genre in music


October 7, 2005 Interscope artist Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” becomes first digital single to sell one million units


January 7, 2005 Warner band Linkin Park earns a Diamond award for Hybrid Theory (2000)


February 15, 2005 Norah Jones’ debut Blue Note album Come Away with Me turns Diamond three years after its release


April 15, 2005 The Beatles earn their 5th Diamond award for 1 (Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol, 2000)


November 1, 2006 Capitol Nashville country artist Garth Brooks takes Double Live (2008) 21x multi-Platinum. Garth Brooks is currently the best-selling solo artist in history having certified more than 128 million units to date


June 2006 Master Ringtone award introduced. The Black Eyed Peas, Chamillionaire, D4L, T-Pain earn the RIAA’s first multi-Platinum ringtone certifications


January 10, 2007 Daniel Powter’s “Bad Day” goes double-Platinum to become the RIAA’s first multi-Platinum digital download


July 27, 2007 The best selling ringtone by a female solo artist, Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable,” certifies 3x multi-Platinum
2008 RIAA celebrates 50th Anniversary of Gold Record


November 7, 2008 The decade’s highest certified album by a male solo artist – Usher’s Confessions – reaches 10x multi-Platinum


May 8, 2009 Flo Rida’s “Low” goes 5x multi-Platinum; is the highest certified digital download in history


August 21, 2009 Michael Jackson’s legendary album Thriller climbs to 29x multi-Platinum to tie the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) as the highest certified album in RIAA Gold & Platinum history


October 12, 2009 The decade’s top recipient of digital download certifications – Taylor Swift – takes her best selling song “Love Story” 4x multi-Platinum


December 15, 2009 Lil Wayne’s ringtone “Lollipop” becomes the highest certified ringtone ever at 5x multi-Platinum

#####

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade organization that supports and promotes the creative and financial vitality of the major music companies. Its members are the music labels that comprise the most vibrant record industry in the world. RIAA® members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 85% of all legitimate recorded music produced and sold in the United States.

In support of this mission, the RIAA works to protect the intellectual property and First Amendment rights of artists and music labels; conduct consumer, industry and technical research; and monitor and review state and federal laws, regulations and policies. The RIAA® also certifies Gold®, Platinum®, Multi-Platinum™ and Diamond sales awards as well as Los Premios De Oro y Platino™, an award celebrating Latin music sales.

Contact:
Jonathan Lamy
Cara Duckworth
Liz Kennedy
202/775-0101

riaa.com/newsitem.php?news_month_filter=&news_year_filter=&resultpage=&id=C91C40E1-A65A-0F81-EBB3-8FE3B7C0ECEA

[fridayteenage]

Female solo artist: and Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” (Big Machine, 2008) 4x multi-platinum
Female solo artist: Taylor Swift—25 (Big Machine)
Female solo artist: Britney Spears—23 (Sony/Jive)

[dbt88]

Highest certified album:

Female solo artist: Shania Twain’s Up! (UMG/Mercury Nashville, 2002) 11x Platinum

Damn, Britney would've gotten this if Up! wasn't a double-disc set.

[KingB]

yasss beysus

[S. Carter]

Yesssss Beyonce. You own the world. #whomad

[Legoman]

I'm very impressed by Taylor and Gaga's digital owning

[dbt88]

Sad that Britney didn't get any special mention when she first held the record for highest first week sales for a FEMALE and SOLO artist, and two of her albums BOMT and OIDIA were certified DIAMOND this past decade.

[Myth X]

Every artist should wish to have Beyoncé's manager and label.

The moment that a single like "Diva" hit the 500.000 copies it's certified gold at the next day. Hell even "Ego" has a Gold certification.

But artists like Britney Spears and Eminem are undercertified.

I still can't believe that singles like Womanizer and Circus that sold more than 2 million doesn't even have a gold certification. Toxic, 3, If U Seek Amy should be Platinum, Break The ice should be Gold and the list goes on. Blackout should be Platinum too. I can't believe that My December was certified Platinum with 750k copies sold but Blackout with more than 960k doesn't even have a Gold certification.

Same goes to Eminem who has some uncertified singles & albums including Relapse.

Blame it on the labels I guess.

[dbt88]

Feb 18, 2010 10:50:40 GMT -5 Myth X said:

Every artist should wish to have Beyoncé's manager and label.

The moment that a single like "Diva" hit the 500.000 copies it's certified gold at the next day. Hell even "Ego" has a Gold certification.

But artists like Britney Spears and Eminem are undercertified.

I still can't believe that singles like Womanizer and Circus that sold more than 2 million doesn't even have a gold certification. Toxic, 3, If U Seek Amy should be Platinum, Break The ice should be Gold and the list goes on. Blackout should be Platinum too. I can't believe that My December was certified Platinum with 750k copies sold but Blackout with more than 960k doesn't even have a Gold certification.

Same goes to Eminem who has some uncertified singles & albums including Relapse.

Blame it on the labels I guess.

Agree. Undercertified artists other than Britney and Eminem also include Janet Jackson and some Madonna albums as well

[KeepDeanWeird]

No sympathy for those who choose not to certify. 1) They often don't want to pay fee and 2) they don't like opening up their records/books. Remember Motown would not certify for years.

[dbt88]

Feb 18, 2010 14:33:14 GMT -5 KeepDeanWeird said:

No sympathy for those who choose not to certify. 1) They often don't want to pay fee and 2) they don't like opening up their records/books. Remember Motown would not certify for years.

No sympathy for the label, but for the artist, yes.

[Creme de la Creme]

Its a shame they do not automatically get certified. The cost is hardly a dent in a big record company's coffers.

The process for certification in detail here:
riaa.com/goldandplatinum.php?content_selector=certification

[neverduplicated]

If the artists really care about certifications, can't they just push the label to do it and possibly pay for it as well? I know that might seem unfair to the artist, but if you've sold enough to go gold or platinum, I'm sure you could afford to apply for a certification. I would imagine that if I were a recording artist I would push my label to keep my certifications up-to-date.

[dbt88]

Feb 19, 2010 9:59:36 GMT -5 neverduplicated said:

If the artists really care about certifications, can't they just push the label to do it and possibly pay for it as well? I know that might seem unfair to the artist, but if you've sold enough to go gold or platinum, I'm sure you could afford to apply for a certification. I would imagine that if I were a recording artist I would push my label to keep my certifications up-to-date.

\

Heck, I'll even pay for my fave's certification if that's what it takes

[Creme de la Creme]

Chart Watch Extra: Beyonce Is The Certified Sales Champ
by Paul Grein in Chart Watch

The organization that hands out gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards has just confirmed what you probably already assumed: Beyonce was just about the hottest music artist for the past decade. The Recording Industry Assn. added up all the certifications that it awarded from 2000 through 2009, not just for albums, but for all the music configurations that they track-albums, digital songs, master ringtones and music videos.

The Washington, D.C.-based organization gave an artist credit for one "unit" when a title went gold, a second when it went platinum, a third when it went double-platinum, and so on. The RIAA counted only titles that were released from 2000 to 2009, so catalog product didn't affect the rankings. Beyonce came out on top for the decade with 64 certifications. Eagles were the top group for the decade, with 48. Michael Jackson was the top male solo artist, with 44.

The RIAA's methodology is clever, but simplistic. It gave equal weight to all four of these configurations (albums, digital songs, master ringtones and music videos), which assumes an equivalency between them. But they're not equal. Virtually every artist in the business would rather have a multi-platinum album than, say, a multi-platinum master ringtone (which reflects song usage in cell phones).

There's a second factor you need to keep in mind. The RIAA's sales criteria for certification is different for different configurations. To be certified platinum, albums and singles need to sell 1 million copies, while music videos need to sell just 100,000 copies. This disparity obviously worked to the benefit of artists who had music videos in their certification portfolios. (See Eagles and Michael Jackson below.)

Bottom line: The RIAA's jumbo-combo sweepstakes is an interesting and entertaining approach, but, as is often the case with statistics, you have to take the results with a grain of salt.
With that in mind, let's take a closer at those three artists' totals.
Beyonce's total of 64 certifications includes 20 for digital songs, 19 for master ringtones, 13 for music videos and 12 for albums. Her top title overall was her 2003 debut album, Dangerously In Love, which has been certified four times platinum. The album spawned the #1 hits "Crazy In Love" (featuring Jay-Z) and "Baby Boy" (featuring Sean Paul).

Eagles' total of 48 certifications was greatly inflated by the presence of the video, Farewell Tour: Live From Melbourne, which has been certified 30 times platinum (which translates to about 3 million copies). The group is also represented with three albums. The most successful was 2007's Long Road Out Of Eden, a two-CD set which is certified seven times platinum. (The RIAA gives double weight to two-CD albums. This translates to sales of about 3.5 million copies.)

Michael Jackson's total of 44 certifications was also inflated by the presence of a video, Number Ones, which has been certified 13 times platinum (recognizing sales of about 1.3 million copies). His tally includes two other top-selling music videos, HIStory On Film and Live In Bucharest, which are each six times platinum. Jackson's top-selling album of the decade was Number Ones, which has been certified three times platinum.

While the all-inclusive grand tallies will attract the most attention, the RIAA was on more solid statistical ground when it simply reported the top certifications for individual configurations.

ALBUMS
George Strait was the top artist in terms of album certifications. The country veteran had 29. His top album for the decade was 50 Number Ones, a two-CD set that was released in 2004. It has been certified seven times platinum. (Again, this translates to sales of about 3.5 million copies.)

*NSYNC's 2000 blockbuster No Strings Attached was certified for sales of 11 million copies, more than any other album released in the decade. The collection spawned three top 10 hits: "Bye Bye Bye," "It's Gonna Be Me" and "This I Promise You." The boy band had a short shelf life, but one of its members, Justin Timberlake, became a solo superstar.

(Two double-disk albums were also certified at the 11 million level, which translates to sales of about 5.5 million copies each. These are Shania Twain's 2002 album Up! and OutKast's 2003 smash Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.)

DIGITAL SONGS

Taylor Swift was the top artist in terms of digital song certifications. The country/pop star had 25. Her top titles were "Love Story" (which is four times platinum) and "Teardrops On My Guitar," "Our Song" and "You Belong With Me" (each of which has been certified two times platinum).

"Low" by Flo Rida featuring T-Pain was the highest-certified digital song. The 2007 smash is certified at five times platinum.
The RIAA added digital sales awards in October 2004. Forty-five titles were included in the initial group of certifications. One year later, Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" became the first digital single to be certified for sales of 1 million units. In January 2007, Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" became the first digital single to be certified for sales of 2 million units.

"Low" was the first digital single to be certified three times platinum (in March 2008), four times platinum (in September 2008) and five times platinum (in May 2009).

MASTER RINGTONES

Beyonce was the top artist in terms of master ringtone (also known as phone tone) certifications. The pop/R&B superstar had 19. The most successful was her 2006 smash "Irreplaceable," which is three times platinum.

"Lollipop" by Lil Wayne featuring Static Major was the highest-certified master ringtone. The 2008 smash has been certified five times platinum.

The RIAA added awards for master ringtones in June 2006. The first double-platinum master ringtones were "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas, "Laffy Taffy" by D4L, "Ridin'" by Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone and "I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)" by T-Pain featuring Mike Jones.

"Ridin'" also became the first master ringtone to be certified three times platinum (in August 2006) and four times platinum (in May 2007). But "Lollipop" was the first to go five times platinum (in December).

The RIAA began presenting gold awards in 1958, platinum awards in 1976 and multi-platinum awards in 1984. The organization added Diamond awards in 1999, when sales were brisk and the music industry assumed there would be a lot of 10 million sellers in its future.

In the past decade, the RIAA has added awards for digital sales and master ringtones. It will doubtless continue adding awards to its Gold & Platinum program.

"As the way fans access and enjoy music continues to evolve, so has and will the G&P program in recognizing the highest commercial and artistic success," said Mitch Bainwol, the RIAA's Chairman and CEO.