The Weeknd, Big Sean & Fifth Harmony LPs Certified Platinum & Gold Due To RIAA Changes

Bianca Gracie | February 1, 2016 2:09 pm
Rihanna Goes Platinum
Rihanna's 'ANTI' sells a million copies, though with help from a Samsung deal.

It’s a big day for the music world, as the Recording Industry Association of America (or RIAA) announced a major change in their regulations — as of today (February 1), streaming sales will now count for singles and albums certification process. Could this be Rihanna‘s ANTI impact, perhaps?

Because of the new change, 17 albums have now been certified Platinum (1 million sales) or Gold (500K sales). 1,500 streams (including on-demand video and audio streams) will be the equivalent of 10 track sales or one album download. A single download has also been bumped up from 100 streams to 150.

“We know that music listening — for both for albums and songs — is skyrocketing, yet that trend has not been reflected in our album certifications. Modernizing our Album Award to include music streaming is the next logical step in the continued evolution of Gold & Platinum Awards, and doing so enables RIAA to fully reward the success of artists’ albums today,” RIAA’s Chairman and CEO Cary Sherman said in a statement.

Some of the albums that have new certifications include Kendrick Lamar‘s To Pimp A Butterfly (Platinum), Big Sean‘s Dark Sky Paradise (Platinum), The Weeknd‘s Beauty Behind The Madness (2x Multi-Platinum), Fifth Harmony‘s Reflection (Gold) and Michael Jackson‘s Thriller (32x Multi-Platinum). View the full list below.

Alt-J, An Awesome Wave (Atlantic Records): Gold
Big Sean, Dark Sky Paradise (Def Jam Recordings): Platinum
Brett Eldredge, Bring You Back (Atlantic Nashville): Gold
Coldplay, Ghost Stories (Atlantic/Parlophone): Platinum
Elle King, Love Stuff (RCA): Gold
Fifth Harmony, Reflection (Epic): Gold
Halsey, Badlands (Astralwerks): Gold
Hozier, Hozier (Columbia): Platinum
Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly (Top Dawg Entertainment/Interscope): Platinum
Michael Jackson, Thriller (Epic/Legacy): 32X Multi-Platinum
Miranda Lambert, Platinum (RCA Nashville): Platinum
Romeo Santos, Fórmula Vol. 2 (Sony Latin): 11X Diamante/RIAA Latin G&P Program
Sam Hunt, Montevallo (MCA Nashville): 2X Multi-Platinum
Shawn Mendes, Handwritten (Island Records): Platinum
The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness (XO/Republic Records): 2X Multi-Platinum
Vance Joy, Dream Your Life Away (Atlantic Records): Gold
Wale, Ambition (Atlantic Urban): Gold

What do you think of the new changes? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!