When I first started in the music biz, Platinum and Gold plaques were given out like Holiday cards. Anyone tangentially related to a hit project got a plaque. Those days are gone: Fewer million sellers, fewer award certifications, smaller budgets, less cash to waste on trophys. It's a bummer. Especially if you're a company like Ill-Eagle or Jewel Box Platinum, that designs and manufactures these plaques.
The solution? Sales are no longer required to achieve sales awards!
The upside for us in video is: Much like the revised (or reviled) Hot 100 Billboard chart, music videos are now officially recognized as something that generates income and serves as the official and/or definitive version of a recorded work for some consumers.
Here's how it works. There's now a new product called the "Combined" Digital Single Award, tabulated as follows:
- 100 audio and/or video streams count as the equivalent of one download
- User generated content does not count (sorry, Harlem Shake)
- These listens and/or views must be from an approved RIAA/NARM provider. These include YouTube, VEVO, MTV.com, Dailymotion, iTunes Store and more.
Rack up 500k views/listen/downloads and you can get yourself a Gold "Combined" Digital Single Award. Got a million? Trade up to Platinum.
And in case you're wondering: Yes, the official name of this award has "Combined" in quotes. I have no "idea" why.
So, go click away and get those viewcounts rocking. Or better yet, come up with a "genius" video idea that goes viral and clear some wall space for your new award.
Here's some nuggets from the press release:
On-demand audio and/or video song streams will now be counted towards the 500,000 (Gold), 1,000,000 (Platinum) and 2,000,000 plus (multi-Platinum) thresholds required for G&P’s Digital Single Award certification...
“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,” said Cary Sherman, Chairman & CEO, RIAA. “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.”
