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Status of Elvis' record sales and gold & platinum record award certifications. |
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Status of Elvis' record sales and gold & platinum record award certifications.
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| It is estimated that Elvis has sold over one billion records worldwide, more than anyone else in the history of the record business. It is estimated that 60% of these sales have been in the United States and 40% in other countries. Not all of Elvis' record sales have been documented and not all have been recognized with gold and platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) or by the appropriate bodies in foreign countries. Still, Elvis has more RIAA certifications than anyone else and his international success is generally regarded as astounding. The subject of record sales and gold/platinum awards is endlessly complex. Here, we attempt to give a basic explanation to respond to the constant flow of inquiries we get about this topic. American Sales & Gold/Platinum Awards In August 1992, RCA Records and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) posthumously awarded to Elvis 110 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums and singles, the largest presentation of gold and platinum record awards in history. The idea was to present all at once Elvis' entire American record sales achievement from the start of his career to the present day - recognizing again all the certifications that had ever been made up to that time, recognizing sales during Elvis' lifetime that had not been properly certified, and recognizing sales since his death that had not yet been certified. It was determined that Elvis had, by that date, 110 different albums and singles that had earned gold, platinum or multi-platinum status. One award was presented for each of the 110 titles, with an indication on the award whether title was gold or platinum or how many times platinum. RCA also presented a 9-foot glass sculpture proclaiming Elvis the greatest recording artist of all time. Since then, research has continued into Elvis' past sales and his ongoing sales continue to be documented and certified. Existing gold and platinum award-winners continue to be upgraded as appropriate (upgrades do not change the total of titles) and new first-time gold and platinum certifications continue to be awarded. The latest major presentation of gold and platinum for Elvis was made in August 1999: 1 gold single, 14 gold albums, 3 platinum or multi-platinum albums, and gold or platinum sales certification upgrades for 6 singles and 15 albums. As of this date, Elvis has 131 different albums and singles to be certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum by the RIAA. By far, Elvis has more RIAA certifications than any other artist or group. In the August 1999 presentation RCA also presented an award as their proclamation of Elvis as Artist of the Century. Elvis' RIAA gold and platinum certifications are designated using the 1990's requirements for certification: gold single or album - 500,000 copies sold; platinum single or album - 1 million copies sold. In the era when singles were big sellers, the standard was 1 million copies for a gold single; 2 million copies for platinum single. In the old days, a gold album was awarded for a million dollars in sales, but the current requirements for a gold or platinum album have been the same for many years. Platinum status was created in the 1970's. Background: The RIAA is the official body to which record companies report record sales figures and request the awarding of gold and platinum records to their artists for American sales achievements. The RIAA came into existence in 1958. Elvis had many gold records before that time that were awarded in-house from his record company, RCA. However, RCA, for the most part, did not request retroactive RIAA certification of these pre-RIAA record sales achievements. Also, over the years, they did not often request additional certification when the records went gold again, or request retroactive platinum certifications when the platinum status was created in the 1970's. Therefore, in Elvis' lifetime he did not get all of the gold and platinum certifications he was due, and in the years following his death the award certifications became even more badly outdated. Some time after BMG bought RCA Records, the new administration decided to go back and make it right. But, pre-computer-age files on Elvis’ sales were mis-filed, incomplete, lost, and scattered. It happened that in 1990 Graceland had acquired the lifetime collection of files, photography, and memorabilia of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ long-time career manager. Colonel’s files were more complete and were well-organized. In early 1992, RCA and Graceland worked together to bring auditors from the RIAA to Graceland to go through Colonel’s files. The auditors were able to locate sales figures to prompt an amazing number of certifications for the August 1992 presentation previously described. Since then, RCA Records has continued working on retroactive certifications and certification of ongoing American sales. They are also working on the even more difficult task of documenting Elvis' past and ongoing international sales. International Sales & Gold/Platinum Awards It is estimated that 40% of Elvis' record sales have been outside the U.S. But, exact sales figures for all the countries around the world are even harder to come by than the American sales figures. But, BMG/RCA is working on documenting Elvis' achievements in foreign sales as much as possible. Dramatic evidence of the beginning of this effort was during August 1997, when they made a very special presentation at Graceland. BMG/RCA had invited all non-U.S. factions of their company to provide gold and platinum discs for all Elvis' documented sales achievements in their countries. Over 100 awards were presented in the ceremony, with a large centerpiece plaque from the parent company heralding their estimation that Elvis had sold over 400 million records outside the U.S. But, most of the individual awards presented had no statistical value, as most of the foreign branches of BMG/RCA decided to create 20th Anniversary tributes instead. It will take some time for actual sales figures to be researched and documented and for the appropriate awards update to be presented. If and when that day comes, it will be a little bit more confusing than the American awards because, with the varying sizes of the foreign countries and their record-buying populations, the sales requirements for gold and platinum status vary from country to country. However, with the 1997 presentation, BMG/RCA succeeded in bringing attention and awareness to Elvis' outstanding foreign sales achievement.
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Source:
Elvisology E-Newsletter
www.elvis-presley.com
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