Music recording sales certification

Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies. 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.

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

History

The original gold record awards were presented to artists by their own record companies to publicize their sales achievements. The first of these was awarded by RCA Victor to Glenn Miller in February 1942, celebrating the sale of 1.2 million copies of "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". 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.

Double Platinum (film)

Double Platinum is a 1999 musical film starring Diana Ross and Brandy.

Plot

Double Platinum (album)

Double Platinum is the first greatest hits album by the American hard rock band Kiss, released in 1978. Many of the songs on Double Platinum were remixed and differ from their original versions: in the case of "Strutter," it was re-recorded with a slight disco beat and dubbed as "Strutter '78." Other songs ("Hard Luck Woman," "Detroit Rock City") had sections completely removed, while the beginning of "Black Diamond" was repeated at the end, fading out at the start of the first verse and giving the song a "wrap around" feel. The overall sound of the album is slightly flat and compressed, to give a similar sound to the varying productions of each track which are taken from the albums between the years 1974 up to 1977.

The Japanese single release of "Strutter '78" includes a different version to that on the album: faster and shorter, with an altered guitar solo, plus a more prominent hi-hat (cymbal) sound throughout.

Release and reception

The original vinyl release, in a gatefold-sleeve, had an embossed, silver-foiled sleeve, with the band members in bas-relief inside. The album was packaged with a printed "Platinum Award" thanking the Kiss Army for making the band a "Double Platinum Success". Later reissues would retain the gatefold-sleeve but replaced the logo with a printed, red-type version and the band members were now represented inside by photos rather than the bas illustrations. When the album was remastered for CD in the US in 1997, it mimicked the original vinyl .