After a giant boost in streams that followed Eminem’s Super Bowl Halftime performance with Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) today announced 73.5 million newGold & Platinum Program certifications for Eminem. The Shady/Aftermath/Interscope artist is now the number one awarded musicianforsinglesin the program’s history and one of onlysevenartists in any genre or era with three or more Diamond Album Awards.
Eminem’scombined sixRIAA Diamond awards – three albums and three singles –cement his place as one of the most accomplished artists in history.With today’s 73.5 million new award units, Eminem’s RIAA Award career total is now 227.5 million – 166 million single certifications and 61.5 million album certifications.
RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier says, “These awards recognize Eminem’s unflinching commitment to his craft and the enduring connection he has forged with fans over the last twenty years. With today’s announcement, Eminem becomes the top certified singles artist in our program’s history and adds a rare third Diamond Album to his many creative accomplishments. Congratulations to Eminem and his entire label team who have set the bar higher than ever!”
“Interscope joins Aftermath in congratulating Marshall, Paul, and the entire Shady team on this remarkable achievement. It has been an honor to be part of one of the greatest journeys in the history of recorded music. The most beautiful part of this is it feels like the journey has just begun,” said Steve Berman, Vice Chairman, Interscope Geffen A&M.
Created by the RIAA in 1958 to honor artists and create a standard to measure the commercial success of a sound recording, the Gold & Platinum Awards Program is the industry’s premier barometer for recognizing artistic achievement in the music marketplace.
The program trademarked the Gold Record (500,000 units) and formalized the industry practice of presenting awards to artists for music sales achievements. Later came the Platinum Award (1,000,000), Multi-Platinum Award (2,000,000 plus) and the Diamond Award (10,000,000 plus). In 2000, the RIAA created its Premios de Oro y Platino Awards to celebrate Latin music, specifically albums and songs that are more than 50 percent Spanish language. The RIAA has counted digital sales since 2004 and on-demand streams since 2013.
It is important to note that certifications must be applied for; they do not happen automatically.
All RIAA certifications are calculated by Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman. Complete lists of all album, song, and video awards, as well as top tallies for artists and albums, can be accessed atriaa/gold-platinum/.
