Following suit with the ever-so-changing times, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has included another avenue in which singles and albums can achieve Gold or Platinum certification.
See more of the story and the refreshed list of RIAA certified records released today after the jump and let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Digital music streams such as Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker, and many more; as well as VEVO, Yahoo! Music, and YouTube will now count towards a records certification. This follows a similar move made my Billboard earlier this year, as they decided YouTube views would now play a factor in a record’s success on the Billboard charts. Since on-demand, digital music stream data is authorized to be reported to record labels, it only seems right that they would also count in the RIAA’s certification process. Along with a slew of other records, Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love The Way You Lie” is now 11 times platinum, and Ca$h Out’s “Cashin Out” is also platinum. Cary Sherman, Chairman and CEO, RIAA on the recent change:
“Including music streaming in Gold & Platinum awards marks the continued evolution of the industry’s premier program for recognizing artistic achievement, and it reflects the wide spectrum of ways consumers enjoy music from their favorite bands. The music business, along with its incredible array of digital service partners, is offering fans more access to music than ever before. We’re thrilled that our awards will now more fully recognize artists’ commercial success today.”
