Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see List of music recording certifications).

Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after precious materials (gold, platinum and diamond).

The threshold required for these awards depends upon the population of the territory where the recording is released. Typically, they are awarded only to international releases and are awarded individually for each country where the album is sold. Different sales levels, some perhaps 10 times greater than others, may exist for different music media (for example: videos versus albums, singles, or music download).

History 

The original gold and silver record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize their sales achievements. The first silver disc was awarded by Regal Zonophone to George Formby in December 1937 for sales of 100,000 copies of "The Window Cleaner". 

The first gold record was awarded by RCA Victor (under division imprint Bluebird Records)  to Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on February 10, 1942, celebrating the sale of 1.2 million copies of the single, "Chattanooga Choo Choo". 

Another example of a company award is the gold record awarded to Elvis Presley in 1956 for one million units sold of his single "Don't Be Cruel" or Decca's gold record to Jerry Lewis for "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody". The first gold record for an LP was awarded by RCA Victor to Harry Belafonte in 1957 for the album Calypso (1956), the first album to sell over 1,000,000 copies in RCA's reckoning.

At the industry level, in 1958 the Recording Industry Association of America introduced its gold record award program for records of any kind, albums or singles, which achieved one million dollars in retail sales. These sales were restricted to U.S.-based record companies and did not include exports to other countries. For albums in 1968, this would mean shipping approximately 250,000 units; for singles the number would be higher due to their lower retail price. 

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. No album was certified platinum prior to this year. For instance, the recording by Van Cliburn of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto from 1958 would eventually be awarded a platinum citation, but this would not happen until two decades after its release. In 1999, the diamond certification was introduced for sales of ten million units. In the late 1980s, the certification thresholds for singles were dropped to match that of albums.

Other recording artists received special and symbolic recognitions, including Raphael with a "Uranium disc" granted by Hispavox and SGAE in 1980, and Luis Fonsi received the "Plutonium disc" from Universal Music Group recognizing the global sales of "Despacito" in 2017.

RIAA certification 

The first official designation of a "gold record" by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was established for singles in 1958, and the RIAA also trademarked the term "gold record" in the United States. On 14 March 1958, the RIAA certified its first gold record, Perry Como's hit single "Catch a Falling Star". The Oklahoma! soundtrack was certified as the first gold album four months later. In 1976, RIAA introduced the platinum certification, first awarded to the Eagles compilation album Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) on 24 February 1976, and to Johnnie Taylor's single "Disco Lady" on 22 April 1976. As music sales increased with the introduction of compact discs, the RIAA created the Multi-Platinum award in 1984. Diamond awards, honoring those artists whose sales of singles or albums reached 10,000,000 copies, were introduced in 1999.

In the 20th century, and for a part of the first decade of the 21st, it was common for distributors to claim certifications based on their shipments – wholesale to retail outlets – which led to many certifications which outstripped the actual final retail sales figures. This became much less common once the majority of retail sales became paid digital downloads and digital streaming.

Digital media certification 
In most countries, certifications no longer apply solely to physical media but now also include sales awards recognizing digital downloads (in the US and UK since 2004). In June 2006, the RIAA also certified the ringtone downloads of songs. Streaming from on-demand services such as Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Napster has been included into existing digital certification in the US since 2013, and the UK and Germany since 2014. In the US and Germany, video streaming services like YouTube, VEVO, and Yahoo! Music also began to be counted towards the certification, in both cases using the formula of 100 streams being equivalent to one download. Other countries, such as Denmark and Spain, maintain separate awards for digital download singles and streaming.

IFPI certification 
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) was founded in 1996, and grants the IFPI Platinum Europe Award for album sales over one million within Europe and (as of October 2009) the Middle East. Multi-platinum Europe Awards are presented for sales in subsequent multiples of one million. Eligibility is unaffected by time (from date of release), and is not restricted to European-based artists.

IMPALA certification 
The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA) was founded in April 2000 to grow the independent music sector and promote independent music in the interests of artistic, entrepreneurial and cultural diversity. IMPALA launched sales awards in 2005 as the first sales awards recognising that success on a pan-European basis begins well before sales reach one million. The award levels are Silver (20,000+), Double Silver (40,000+), Gold (75,000+), Double Gold (150,000+), Diamond (200,000+), Platinum (400,000+) and Double Platinum (800,000+).

Certification thresholds 

Below are certification thresholds for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and France. The numbers in the tables are in terms of "units", where a unit represents one sale or one shipment of a given medium. Certification is often awarded cumulatively, and it is possible for one release to be certified silver, gold, and platinum in turn. An album that becomes Platinum twice over, for example, an album which has sold 2,000,000 copies in the United States, is said to be "Double-Platinum", or sometimes "Multi-Platinum". Since 2013 in the U.S., and 2014 in the UK and Germany, streaming of songs counts towards certification of singles with 150 streams being the equivalent of 1 unit sold. Since February 2016, RIAA includes on-demand audio and video streams and a track sale equivalent in Gold and Platinum Album Award. The program will count both sales and streams for single and album certifications.

 United States

United Kingdom

 Canada

France

Manufacture of awards 

The plaques themselves contain various items under the glass. Modern awards often use CDs instead of records. Most gold and platinum records are actually vinyl records which have been vacuum metallized and tinted, while trimmed and plated metal "masters", "mothers", or "stampers" (metal parts used for pressing records out of vinyl) were initially used. The music in the grooves on the record may not match the actual recording being awarded. 

Individual plaque-makers produced their awards according to available materials and techniques employed by their graphic arts departments. The plaques, depending on size and elaborateness of design, cost anywhere between US$135 and $275, most often ordered and purchased by the record label that issued the original recording.

See also 
 List of best-selling albums
 List of best-selling singles
 Art release
 YouTube Creator Awards

References

External links 

 List of national recording industry associations
 Certification of Awards
  – RIAA certification

Music industry
음반 판매량 인증은 앨범, 싱글, DVD 등이 판매된 양을 집계하여 판매량을 인증하는 시스템이다.

많은 국가에서 실시되고 있으며, 대부분의 국가에서 미국 음반 산업 협회에서 사용하는 등급인 골드, 플래티넘, 다이아몬드를 사용하고 있으며, 일부 국가에서는 실버를 사용하기도 한다. "()"표시의 경우 해외 앨범 판매량 인증 기준이다.

인증 기준 
아래는 음반 판매량 인증을 실시하고있는 대표적인 국가는 미국과 영국이다. 표의 숫자는 실제 판매량이나 출하량이 기준으로 될 수 있는데, 숫자에 도달했을 때 인증하는 기준이다. 인증은 누적해서 부여할 수 있으며, 점점 윗단계 인증을 차례로 받는 것도 가능하다. 어떤 앨범이 플래티넘 인증을 기준을 넘었을 때 예를 들어 미국에서는 100만 장이 플래티넘 인증 기준으로 200만 장에 도달하면 "더블 플래티넘" 또는 "멀티 플래티넘"이라고 말한다.

 미국

영국

음반 

 I 오스트레일리아, 덴마크, 핀란드, 독일, 노르웨이, 폴란드, 스웨덴, 영국, 미국은 디지털 앨범 판매량도 포함한 수치이다.
 II GCC 판매량은 바레인, 쿠웨이트, 오만, 카타르, 사우디아라비아, 아랍에미리트를 합친 수치이다.
 III 현재 독일 인증 기준은 2003년 1월 1일 이후 발매된 앨범에 해당되는 기준으로, 1999년 9월 24일 이전 앨범들은 250,000(골드), 500,000(플래티넘)이다. 1999년 9월 25일부터 2002년 12월 31일까지는 150,000(골드), 300,000(플래티넘)이다. 또한 재즈 앨범은 10,000(골드), 20,000(플래티넘)이다.
 IV 헝가리 판매량은 "팝" 앨범에만 해당하는 기준으로, 재즈, 스포큰 워드, 클래식, 월드 뮤직 앨범은 다음과 같은 인증을 한다: 1,500(골드) 3,000(플래티넘)
 V 제시되어있는 인도 판매량 인증은 "힌디 영화"와 "국제" 앨범에만 해당되는 기준이다. 또한 기준은 여섯 개의 세부 부분으로 나눠 다음과 같이 인증한다: "힌디 영화" (100,000; 200,000); "리저널 영화" (50,000; 100,000); "리저널" (25,000, 50,000); "국가" (50,000; 100,000); "클래식" (15,000; 30,000); "국제" (4,000; 6,000).
 VI 말레이시아 판매량 인증은 2009년 7월 1일 이후 기준으로, 10,000 (골드); 20,000(플래티넘) 인증을 한다. 디지털 판매량까지 합쳐 계산할때는 15,000 (골드); 30,000(플래티넘)으로 따지며, 디지털 판매량은 실제 판매량의 1/10으로 줄여서 계산한다(10 다운로드 = 1장).
 VII 멕시코 판매량 인증은 피지컬 앨범 판매량을 참조한다. 디지털 판매 앨범의 경우 5,000 (골드); 10,000 (플래티넘)으로 인증한다. 2009년 7월 1일 이전에는 40,000 (골드); 80,000 (플래티넘); 400,000 (다이아몬드)이 기준이다. 또한 앨범 판매량인 인증을 더 자세하게 나타내기 위해 플래티넘과 골드 인증을 동시에 하기도하는데, 예를 들어 2×플래티넘+골드 인증같은 방식이다.
 VIII 네덜란드 판매량은 "인기있는" 앨범에만 해당하는 기준이다. 재즈, 클래식, 월드 뮤직 앨범은 다음과 같은 인증을 적용한다: 10,000(골드) 20,000(플래티넘).
 IX 폴란드 판매량은 "팝" 앨범에만 해당하는 기준이다. 재즈/클래식 앨범, 사운드트랙 앨범은 순서대로 골드, 플래티넘, 다이아몬드 순으로 인증한다: "재즈/클래식" (5,000; 10,000; 50,000), "사운드트랙" (10,000; 20,000; 100,000).
 X 스웨덴 판매량은 "팝" 앨범에만 해당하는 기준이다. 재즈, 클래식, 포크 뮤직 앨범은 10,000(골드) 20,000(플래티넘) 인증을 적용한다.
 XI 남아프리카 공화국 판매량은 2006년 8월 1일부터의 기준으로, 2006년 8월 1일 이전에 발매된 앨범에는 25,000(골드), 50,000(플래티넘) 인증을 적용했다.
 XII 영국 음반 판매량 인증은 1979년부터 시작되었다. 1973년부터 1979까지는 앨범 판매 수익을 기준으로 인증했는데, 플래티넘 (£1,000,000), 골드 (1973년 4월부터 1974년 9월까지 £150,000, 1974년 9월부터 1977년 1월까지 £250,000, 1977년부터 1979년까지 £300,000), 실버 (1973년 4월부터 1975년 1월까지 £75,000, 1975년 1월부터 1977년 1월까지 £100,000, 1977년부터 1979년까지 £150,000).
 XIII 다움 국가는 실제 판매량을 기반으로 인증하는 나라이다: 오스트리아, 벨기에, 불가리아, 체코, 덴마크, 핀란드, 프랑스, 독일, 그리스, 헝가리, 아이슬란드, 아일랜드, 이탈리아, 룩셈부르크, 네덜란드, 노르웨이, 폴란드, 포르투갈, 러시아, 세르비아, 슬로바키아, 스페인, 스웨덴, 스위스, 터키, 영국.

싱글 

 XIII 오스트레일리아, 덴마크, 핀란드, 독일, 아일랜드, 이탈리아, 뉴질랜드, 노르웨이, 스웨덴, 영국은 디지털 다운로드를 포함해 인증함.
 XIV 명시되어 있는 인증값은 2003년 1월 1일 이후 발매된 싱글부터 해당되는 기준이다. 그 전 싱글은 250,000 (골드); 500,000 (플래티넘)으로 인증. 또한 재즈 싱글은 10,000 (골드); 20,000 (플래티넘)으로 인증한다.
 XV 말레이시아는 피지컬 싱글 판매량으로만 인증하며, 디지털 판매량까지 합쳐 계산할때는 15,000 (골드); 30,000 (플래티넘)으로 인증한다. 디지털 판매량은 실제 판매량의 1/10으로 줄여서 계산한다(10 다운로드 = 1장).

디지털 다운로드 싱글 

 XVIII 일본 인증은 컴퓨터 다운로드와 벨소리도 참조한다.
 XIX 일본 피지컬과 디지털 다운로드가 1,000,000만 장이 팔렸을 때 "다이아몬드"라 하지 않고 "밀리언"이라고 칭한다.

각주

외부 링크 
 국가별 인증 기준  - IFPI

음악 산업
음악상